As Ryland Goede lay on the turf at Emory Sewell Stadium in agonizing pain, he didn’t know what happened.
Goede, a four-star Georgia tight end signee, would suit up as a Kennesaw Mountain football player for the final time on that Oct. 5 night. It was the first region game against North Cobb, and Goede jumped up to snag a back-shoulder fade from his quarterback.
In that very same moment, lying on the turf, he knew.
As he reached over the defender, it felt awkward in mid-air as Goede went to the ground. His knee popped like the snap of a finger and his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was torn.