Rutgers Football: Eric LeGrand Now Able to Stand Up With the Aid of Apparatus

The Rutgers football mantra “keep chopping” began to take on a new meaning when defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed during a kickoff against Army on Oct. 16 last season.

Since then, fans, players and analysts alike have offered their sincere thoughts and prayers for Eric and his family, without truly knowing what the future would hold.

While glimpses of hope arose as the months went by, an early example of hope was when LeGrand was able to breathe on his own and taken off the hospital breathing apparatus, and everyone wondered if the tenacious Scarlet Knight would ever be able to live a normal life again. 

Thankfully, the future looks bright, and it appears like we can stop wondering.

Back on June 13, LeGrand took to his Twitter account and stated, "Twitches going throughout the body, coming back."

Then on July 6, LeGrand once again took to Twitter to say that he is “moving the arms little by little.”

On July 13, fans undoubtedly received the best news yet. 

LeGrand tweeted the phrase, “Standing tall, we can't fall. Standing upright again,” along with the photo attached to this article.

For a better look at the original photo, click here.

Seeing LeGrand up on his own two feet again, even if it is with the aid of a machine, is certainly a very inspiring and encouraging photo. 

Fans keeping a close eye on Eric’s condition should be encouraged to follow him on Twitter, where he has been posting regular updates for a couple of months now.

LeGrand has remained incredibly optimistic since the unfortunate accident on the field and has sworn that he will talk again someday. 

If his latest photo is any indication, it appears like the 20-year-old Avenel, N.J. native was right.