Injuries are, unfortunately, part of sports, and Michigan State football and basketball fans have seen firsthand how they can derail an entire season. So when Darius Snow went down in the first game of the 2022 season, it felt like the defense got a lot worse that day.
The Spartan linebacker was coming off a breakout season in 2021 in which he finished with 87 tackles, six tackles for loss, two pass deflections, and an interception while playing safety. He made the move to linebacker before the 2022 season, and it looked like he was going to be an All-Big Ten caliber player, but his body had other ideas.
Snow went down with a brutal injury that forced him to miss the rest of that 2022 season. For young athletes, season-ending injuries can lead to depression, and it can sometimes derail entire careers.
Eric Snow wasn't about to let that happen to his son.
The former Michigan State basketball legend and NBA veteran wasted no time sending a message to his son on the night of that injury in the training room. Darius shared the interaction and ended with a message: "It's all about maximizing your opportunities."
Darius Snow: “My dad told me, the night I got hurt, in the training room at the stadium, it’s how you get back. How you make the most of the situation. I was in the position to get a degree early, I did that. I was in the position to get a master’s, I did that.”
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) August 5, 2025
Eric knew exactly what could happen if Darius were to let this injury get the best of him mentally and physically. It would have been easier to give up and mail it in for the rest of his career, but he dug deep and listened to his dad's advice, making the most of the situation.
Darius Snow turned that into multiple degrees, including a master's degree, and now he's entering his sixth season, hoping to have the year that he expected prior to that 2022 campaign.
And if that does happen, we can thank Eric Snow.