Texas Longhorns quarterback David Ash ably masked the pain inside as he announced his retirement from football on Sept. 22, 2014, because of concussion symptoms that wouldn’t go away.
“I’m at peace with that,” Ash said then of giving up football. “God has given me a peace.”
Only it wasn’t true.
Ash struggled to cope with an unknown emptiness. Seeking answers through his faith, Ash said he was “in kind of a rough place” and “was kind of running away from the pain I felt” when he set off on missionary trips overseas. Those eye-opening journeys ultimately helped him put his personal anguish into focus and, through a series of coincidences, brought him full circle back to football.