{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The HeadRush Podcast with Paul Frase","title":"Rodrick Walker: The Comeback, the Hits & the Power of Showing Up","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2759,"description":"At 17, Rodrick Walker thought a shattered ankle had ended his football future. What helped him come back went beyond rehab—it was the people who refused to let him face it alone.\nOne play shattered his ankle. The isolation afterward shook his confidence. But Rodrick Walker’s story didn’t end on that field.\nFollow The HeadRush Podcast for honest conversations about brain health, resilience, and finding hope. Then share this episode with a parent, coach, or someone working through a setback.\nRodrick joins Paul Frase to revisit the injury that wiped out his senior high school season, a hospital visit from Roger Staubach, and the support that helped him return to football and eventually lead the Texas Longhorns in rushing.\nHe also recalls a punishing hit that left him seeing stars—and heading straight back to the huddle. Together, Paul and Rodrick discuss football’s approach to head impacts, youth coaching, and the responsibility adults have to protect young athletes.\nBeyond football, Rodrick shares his work through the Rodrick Walker Foundation and the message he brings to young people: a setback doesn’t have to determine what happens next. You can still “curve up.”\nLearn more about The Rodrick Walker Foundation and its community work:\nhttps://therodrickwalkerfoundation.org/\nSupport the HeadRush Foundation’s mission to advance brain injury education, awareness, and access to support. Follow, share, and help these conversations reach the families who need them.\nThank you to our sponsors:\n• Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation — raising awareness about repetitive head impacts and CTE.\n• Millennium Health Centers / Millennium Health Store — Dr. Mark Gordon and his team.\n• Paradise Behavioral Health — the BrainWell Program.\n• MC Wellness — Cristal Clark, MA, LPC-S.\n• Ambio Life Sciences — learn more at ambio.life.\n• Vielight, Inc. — a proud sponsor of The HeadRush Podcast. Use our discount code HEADRUSHVL.\nHow to cope. How to find hope.\n#TheRodrickWalkerFoundation","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/NjrmzZaTagXj-R-bVK3-S68yVZIoWQ_Fi-H6bjhL9d0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jYWVm/OGY1OWVhZjA2MTNk/Yzg1ZWFjMmRjMWUy/ZWZjNC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}