Why did Laiatu Latu retire in 2021? Explaining NFL Draft prospect's injury history and return to football

Football fans won't have to wait long to hear Laiatu Latu's name called in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Though most evaluators don't have him as the top EDGE in the class, the UCLA rusher is regarded by most as at least top five at the position, with some even having him as high as a top-three name at the spot. He was a consensus All-American in his final year with UCLA and was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Anyone that turned on a UCLA game in 2023 knew Latu would be headed to the NFL. But there was a point where that journey would have seemed inconceivable.

That's because after his true freshman season, Latu suffered a neck injury before his true sophomore season. That injury forced him to medically retire from football — but he made a triumphant return.

Despite missing two years of college football, Latu returned to the big stage in 2022 and ascended to stardom in 2023. Evaluators now see him as as a terrifying pass-rusher capable of using an array of moves to work his way past offensive tackles and get after quarterbacks.

How did Latu go from medical retirement to top NFL Draft prospect? Here's what you need to know.

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Why did Laiatu Latu retire in 2021?

There was plenty of anticipation around Latu's arrival with Washington in 2019. He was a four-star recruit, graded by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the No. 128 national prospect, No. 8 weak-side defensive end and No. 20 player in the state of California.

Latu saw the field in a reserve role with the Huskies, logging 15 total tackles, including 1.5 for a loss (0.5 sack), in eight games played. A larger role was expected of him as a true sophomore.

But during the COVID-shortened campaign, Latu was ruled out with a preseason injury that at the time was undisclosed. It was later reported to be a neck injury. On April 7, 2021, Washington coach Jimmy Lake announced Latu would be requiring neck surgery and would be forced to medically retire. Latu said in 2024 the procedure he had was neck fusion surgery, per ESPN.

Lake shared specialists that had worked with NFL teams and players who sustained the same injuries all consulted on the decision for Latu to retire.

“Of course, our medical personnel, we exhausted every professional we could think of to make sure this would be the proper decision,” Lake said, according to The Athletic. “This decision came within the last couple of months, after consultation with all the medical professionals, and it was a tough decision to make, for sure, but it’s in the safety of our players, first and foremost. We would never want to put anybody in danger of possibly not being able to use his extremities the rest of his life. We would never want that to happen with anybody.”

MORE: Odds shift for Latu to go eighth overall

The plan was for Latu to stay with the program as a student assistant. Lake believed it would help Latu to stay around the sport and would help the team to learn from such a skilled pass-rusher.

That appeared to be it. Latu's career would end after one promising season.

“You kind of have that thing in the back of your mind, like ‘Dang, it’s over,’” Latu said, per The Athletic. “But as soon as I was told that, I didn’t really have anyone to talk to. I just told myself that I feel like I’m not done. I know my body. I’m still able to move and all that. I still have my strength. I was determined the whole way through.”

But that didn't wind up being the case.

In August 2021, Dr. Robert Watkins evaluated images of Latu's neck, according to The Athletic. Watkins had previously treated Peyton Manning, whose career nearly ended due to a neck injury that required spinal fusion surgery. Following tests, Latu was cleared to play.

Doctors at Washington still prevented Latu from seeing the field, but Latu maintained an interest in staying in Seattle. 

Lake was fired by Washington in November 2021, and on Dec. 31, 2021, Latu made a stunning announcement: He would be returning to football. He also left Washington to transfer to UCLA, following his position coach, Ikaika Malloe, who joined UCLA following Lake's termination.

Malloe pushed Chip Kelly to take the chance on Latu, and Kelly's previous experience recruiting Latu helped lead to the pairing of Latu and UCLA. Latu practiced in the spring with the Bruins, even if limited at first, and after seeing a spine specialist in May and more tests in June, UCLA team doctors cleared Latu to return to action.

“It was so many emotions at that point,” Latu said, per The Athletic. “I really can’t pinpoint just what I was feeling but I know I immediately called my mom — This is the green light. She started breaking down and we had our little moment.”

MORE: Where Latu ranks among 2024's best edge rushers

Latu was an immediate impact talent for the Bruins. He tallied 12.5 tackles for loss (10.5 sacks). The next year, the 2023 season, Latu continued his explosive return to football, tallying 21.5 tackles for loss with 13 sacks. He also intercepted a pair of passes.

"I've been dreaming of the NFL since I was a kid, and I never gave up on it all," Latu said, according to ESPN. "I just understood what I wanted to do and that I wanted to get back to playing football again. ... [The neck] was never a concern for them."

What is neck fusion surgery?

Latu underwent neck fusion surgery, which is also known as spinal fusion surgery. 

UPMC describes spinal fusion as a surgery "to fuse two vertebrae to eliminate motion between the two vertebrae and to relieve pain." The process features metal screws and rods fusing the vertebrae together.

Patients might have an incision on the back or neck to reach the spine, and sometimes it can be accessed through the side of the body, per UPMC. Bone grafts or small metal cages with bone grafts are placed between the bones and the screws and rods hold the bones in place to fuse everything together.

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