Michigan State defensive tackle Micajah Reynolds learned a valuable lesson first-hand two weeks ago: Life goes beyond the football field.Reynolds, a Lansing native, was driving home from his friend’s house in the early morning of July 31 when he noticed somebody was trying to flag down his attention. It turns out that somebody was a teenager who had been shot multiple times, in what police believe was an attempted robbery.

“I whipped my car around in the middle of the street and jumped out and ran over to him and helped him out. I put pressure on his wounds and stuff. He had been shot in the head,” Reynolds told the Detroit Free Press.

The victim had suffered gunshot wounds to the head, legs, and torso. He thought this was the end of his life. Reynolds told him otherwise.

“I’m holding him, cradling him and putting pressure and telling him ‘Hey, everything is going to be OK…He’s telling me ‘I’m dead’ and I said ‘You’re not dead, you’re sitting here talking to me,” said Reynolds. ”You’re gonna be fine, just hang on, just keep fighting.”

Even in a matter of life and death, the senior used the mantra he had learned from football to help coax the teenager through the pain until he got medical attention.

“I felt like I was spotting someone on the bench and being like ‘Man, you can do it. Just relax and keep going. You got it and all that.’ Thankfully he made it.“

A family member of the victim told Reynolds that the man had lost an eye from the incident, but given the life-threatening nature of the injuries, he and his family are grateful of Reynolds’ heroic actions. Their lives have forever changed, as has the 3-year lineman for the Spartans.

“It makes me value my time here,” Reynolds said. “It makes me value the fact that I’m not on the streets. I’m not dealing with all the different things that I could have gotten into. It just makes me thankful for what I have. At the same time, it makes me want to help out youth more, to help keep kids out of stuff like that. He was a young guy, a young teenager.”

Seeing action in 13 games last year as a junior, Reynolds recorded a career high 19 tackles, including the first sack of his collegiate career. This year, he’ll look to build upon that progression as he vies for the starting nose tackle position.

No matter how his football career pans out, Micajah Reynolds is nothing short of a hero.

David Zuckerman is the host of Terrace Talk for Impact Sports.

Photo: Michigan State University