BYU Captain, LB Ben Bywater To Have Season-Ending Surgery

SALT LAKE CITY – BYU captain Ben Bywater is shutting down his season.

The star linebacker told the KSL Sports Zone’s “DJ & PK” that he is going to have season-ending surgery.

Ben Bywater announced his season-ending surgery on the KSL Sports Zone’s DJ & PK

Bywater has an injured right shoulder. Two weeks ago, he told DJ & PK in his weekly interview that he was going to play against TCU. But that didn’t materialize as it was a torn labrum injury that prevented him from getting on the field.

“Just know that I was extremely bullish about me getting back on the field. I was excited for sure. We did a few more tests and had a few doctors and a lot of opinions look at it,” said Bywater to the KSL Sports Zone. “The truth is I damaged a nerve in my arm. It would be 5-6 weeks from the time that happened.

“So, unfortunately, I think I’m gonna get surgery here in the next week and a half on it. You heard it here first. It’s unfortunate. But it’s one of those things, I was really trying to push it. But at the end of the day, I still can’t move it. Like it’s been three weeks. I’ve still got nerve damage in my arm. Like I can’t feel much out there.”

Career snapshot for Bywater

Bywater has played in 33 games in his BYU football career. He’s racked up 247 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and three interceptions. One of those interceptions was a pick-six in the New Mexico Bowl last season.

That performance in Albuquerque against SMU earned him defensive MVP honors in the New Mexico Bowl last season.

Thanks to the COVID year, Bywater still has an extra season of eligibility if he wishes to run it back one more time at BYU. Or he decides the time is now to move on and take his best crack at making an NFL roster.

Bywater signed with BYU in the 2017 recruiting class out of Olympus High School. BYU coaches zeroed in on Bywater after seeing his film as a rugby athlete.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.

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