Between his freshman and sophomore year at Florida in 2010, the linebacker from Georgia was diagnosed with a rare condition known as arteriovenous malfunction (AVM), a condition where blood vessels in the brain get tangled and rupture. AVM is often fatal. Neiron required several risky surgeries and a prolonged recovery, most thought he would never play football again.
During recovery, it became apparent to Neiron that football was a gift and there was no guarantee he would ever play again. As part of the recovery process, Neiron took a year off from football. It was a long year, filled with MRIs and tests to ensure the procedure had worked.
Because playing football posed no greater risk of a recurrence of his AVM, Neiron returned to the field for the Gators in 2012 and played in 12 games with a pair of starts. The experience provided Neiron a completely different perspective on playing college football and his life in general.