Eliyahu Gasson | editor-in-chief

Sophomore Duquesne football player Tyler Glover and his friends went out to a trail in Collier Township around 8 p.m. on Nov. 24. They took a side-by-side utility vehicle to clear away fallen trees and broken branches that had fallen because of high winds.

That nighttime trip would change Glover’s life.

Glover was riding in the utility vehicle as they crept down a steep, muddy hill. They started to slide sideways and the vehicle flipped on its side twice, throwing Glover onto the ground.

The roughly 900-pound vehicle landed on his back.

“I just heard a crack, and then I heard a big pop,” Glover said.

His friend Noah Nadolny said he saw everything happen from the bottom of the hill. He ran over and lifted the vehicle off of Glover’s back alone.

“I had my phone in my hand and I just threw it like 20 feet away from where I was,” Nadolny said. “I don’t even know how I did it … I’m not even that strong of a dude.”

Glover’s friends helped him walk about a mile to the nearest road where his neighbor picked him up and drove him home. From there, his father, Sam Glover, drove him to UPMC Mercy Hospital.

Doctors at Mercy told Glover’s parents that they were surprised he wasn’t dead or paralyzed.

“It was pretty hard to see,” his dad said. “Tyler’s always been a pretty outgoing person. He always helps people with no questions asked … And to hear from the doctor what the scan showed … Wow, it was a miracle.”

Glover spent eight days in the hospital following a five-hour emergency surgery, receiving eight screws and two rods in his spine to help repair his back.

Glover said he’s been receiving a lot of support from the football team, with players reaching out with messages of support. He was also visited in the hospital by football Head Coach Jerry Schmitt and Tight Ends Coach Hunter Geisel.

“My teammates have been reaching out like no other. It’s a great program with great people. I have a lot of buddies on the team. They were worried about me because I haven’t talked to them because we just started Thanksgiving break,” Glover said.

“We were saddened to hear about Tyler Glover’s accident. He is a valued member of our program, and our team and staff have been rallying around him and his family during his recovery. We are grateful for the care, encouragement and support from the Duquesne community and ask that their privacy continue to be respected,” the football team said in a statement to The Duke.

Glover went home on Monday able to walk. He said he’s feeling better now, and is looking ahead to physical therapy, which he said is expected to take around eight months to a year. His ultimate goal, he said, is to start playing football again.

“It’s top priority. What I want to do is get better, get into PT, and learn how to move again and stretch out. I want to throw the spikes back on, the pads and be on the field with my buddies again,” he said.

A GoFundMe was set up to raise money to help pay for Glover’s recovery. The campaign has since raised over $27,000, more than the original $20,000 goal.

“I have a lot of people on my side and a lot of people wishing for me to get better and praying and a lot of good things happening … I think the road to recovery is going to be a lot easier whenever your spirits are high and you trust the big man upstairs,” Glover said.

Eliyahu Gasson can be reached at gassone@duq.edu