By Aaron Johnson (@voz_aaron1) – Spear Reporter | Sawyer Deerman warming up before a home game against Kennesaw State on Sept. 14, 2024 (photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
At two years old, Sawyer Deerman had his rib cage split open, his heart stopped and then lifted from his chest.
Sawyer is now a Division I wide receiver for San Jose State after transferring from Alabama in the spring. But, there were questions about whether he would even get the chance to play sports at all.
“When I think about it I get a little emotional,” Sawyer said. “Most kids don’t get to play in college, let alone get heart surgery and play.”
Sawyer on the sidelines during San Jose State’s game at Fresno State on Oct. 26, 2024 (photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor)
Sawyer was born on June 22, 2004, in Birmingham, Alabama to a family of athletes.
His mom, Jennifer Deerman, was a cheerleader and a basketball player in high school.
“She claims they called her ‘Little Rodman,’” Sawyer said with a smile. “She said she was a rebounding machine back in the day.”
Sawyer’s father, Terry Deerman, played football and baseball in high school.
Terry is also a diehard Alabama football fan, a passion that would be passed down to Sawyer.
“He grew up watching me bust TVs at six years old because we lost to Auburn,” Terry said. “Playing football at Alabama was his dream.”
But before Sawyer could realize his dream, life would hand him his first challenge.
At checkout, two days after his birth, Sawyer was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect (VSD). VSD is a hole in the heart’s wall separating the lower chambers according to the American Heart Association.
“He had a little flap of skin that was flapping over his heart,” Jennifer said. “The doctors thought that would eventually grow and help shut the hole, but it didn’t.”
After the diagnosis, Sawyer would undergo checkups every two-to-three months.
Terry remembers the doctor saying there was a “90% chance” Sawyer would not need surgery.
Days passed without issue for Sawyer and the family thought their next trip to the hospital would be a cause for celebration.
Little did the Deermans know that the journey was just beginning.
As the doctor began to examine Sawyer more intensely, his parents became increasingly worried.
“When he turned around I could see it in his eyes,” Terry said. “He put his head down, looked up and then told us Sawyer was going to need heart surgery to fix this.”
The flap originally thought to have been his saving grace to avoid surgery was actually the undoing.
The piece of skin had not healed and instead had been pulling on his aortic valve causing another hole to form. This time in the center of his heart.
Sawyer would be put under the knife.
Once the doctors got Sawyer’s heart beating again, they shared the news with his parents that the operation was successful and he was on pace to make a full recovery.
Sawyer stayed in the hospital for seven days after his surgery.
Jennifer said she believes it’s incredible that Sawyer doesn’t remember any of the operation.
“He laid back in the cardiac ICU for a couple of days with tubes running in and out of him,” Jennifer said. “I’m glad he doesn’t remember that.”
Once he was able to move around, Sawyer ran down the hallways with his parents chasing after him despite being hooked up to many monitors.
“As a kid, I don’t think you realize pain or think about pain as much as we do as an adult,” Jennifer said. “So for him to have it at a young age was a blessing.”
Jennifer Deerman, left, Sawyer Deerman, 2, Terry Deerman and sister Savanah Deerman, 8 months, smile for a family photo at University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 8, 2007. Sawyer wears a necklace of “bravery beads,” each bead representing a procedure or event from his treatment. (photo courtesy of Jennifer Deerman)
After being cleared to leave the hospital, Sawyer would head home sporting his favorite hat, an Alabama Crimson Tide hat.
Despite having heart surgery, Sawyer took after his parents and had an interest in athletics early on.
“We never try to hold him back in any way,” Jennifer said. “Especially with the heart as an excuse.”
Originally, Jennifer expressed concern to the doctors about how his ribs would hold up playing football because they were split open.
The doctors reassured her Sawyer’s ribs would be stronger than average because of the metal wiring that sewed them back together.
“I know a bunch of folks back home were like ‘I wouldn’t even let him play football,’” Sawyer said. “But my parents were always fully supportive of it.”
Their support would pay off early, the very first time Sawyer touched the ball in youth football he ran it all the way to the house.
“It was an inside little dive,” Sawyer said. “I was 3 feet tall, pants down to my ankles, but I just remember seeing the hole open.”
Sawyer would go on to become a local superstar in Tuscaloosa receiving an offer from University of Tennessee to play slot receiver in the second game of his tenth-grade season.
“In Tuscaloosa he’s like a movie star,” Terry said. “When we walk in a restaurant it’s never ‘Hey are you Terry and Jennifer?’ it’s always ‘Aren’t you Sawyer Deerman’s parents?’”
Sawyer received around 14 offers, that included programs such as Ole Miss, Georgia Tech and Maryland by the time he was in eleventh grade.
Despite all of the interest he was shown, his eyes were still set on his childhood dream to play football at the Crimson Tide’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Sawyer received an invitation to try out at camp for Alabama.
“The last camp he went to he pretty much destroyed,” Terry said.
With 20 minutes left in the practice, Sawyer and his parents were informed that legendary football head coach Nick Saban wanted to meet them after the camp.
“He said ‘Sawyer you just ran a 4.51 forty on the same indoor turf that Jaylen Waddle ran a 4.47 and he just left for the sixth pick in the draft,’” Terry said. “They were highly interested.”
After getting compared to current Miami Dolphins wide receiver Waddle, Sawyer imagined a scholarship would be on the table from the Crimson Tide.
Terry is good friends with the former defensive line coach and current assistant head coach of Alabama, Freddie Roach, who kept reassuring him that Sawyer would get a scholarship.
“He kept telling me ‘It’s gonna happen man you know he’s gonna get it,’” Terry said.
Sawyer would be offered a preferred walk-on (PWO) roster spot receiving $8,000 worth of compensation for schooling.
A letdown compared to what it seemed like was on the horizon.
Regardless, Sawyer being on the team was a dream come true as he got to experience life as a member of the Crimson Tide.
His most surreal moment came in the game against Texas where he got to run out the tunnel in front of 100,000 fans with the songs “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Dixieland Delight” blaring in the stadium.
“You just realize as a kid this is what you dreamed of, this is what you worked for,” Sawyer said. “Just getting to experience that was worth it.”
Sawyer never saw the field in 2023 and realized that being a PWO at one of the biggest football programs in the country was not a recipe for playing time.
Sawyer entered the transfer portal the following season.
Sawyer received offers from Murray State, University of Tennessee at Martin, Florida Atlantic University and San Jose State.
Upon visiting SJSU, head coach Ken Niumatalolo made a great impression on Sawyer and his family.
“He just gave us that feeling of ‘I want to take care of Sawyer,’” Jennifer said. “When we were at Alabama I felt like you couldn’t go to Mr. Saban for anything personal, but with Ken, I feel like Sawyer can.”
Having never lived outside of Alabama, the approach of the SJSU coaching staff was enough to soothe their worries.
“We felt more comfortable with him 2,300 miles from home then we did with him being right across the street,” Terry said.
Sawyer after a reception during warmups before a home game against Kennesaw State on Sept. 14, 2024 (photo by Nick Orozco – Co-Executive Editor of The Spear)
Sawyer was featured in the book “Bravery Beads” written by Corinne Bloom and Darren Enkin.
The organization of the same name provides necklaces to kids going through life-challenging illnesses.
Sawyer received a necklace after his operation and was featured in the book as an inspiring story for kids going through similar situations.
“He’s used this to talk to other kids to try and tell them to not use this as a crutch,” Jennifer said. “Anything’s possible because now he’s played at Alabama and is on a full-ride scholarship to San Jose State.”
Sawyer hopes to continue to grow his platform.
“It never bothered me to tell people about it,” Sawyer said. “I don’t share it for people to feel sorry about me, I do it to help people.”
