Archive: Toledo Rocket Success Stories

By Paul Helgren, Associate Athletic Director for Communications

TOLEDO, Ohio – Larry Stephens remembers the first time he could hear the world as it really was. Believe it or not, he didn't like it. Let's just say the change wasn't quite what he was expecting.
 
Born with a hearing impairment that was gradually making him go deaf, the University of Toledo wide receiver was six years old when he was fitted with his first cochlear implant, a miracle of modern medicine that has opened the world of sound to nearly 750,000 people worldwide.
 
Stephens had a hard time adjusting to it at first. Overnight, it was as if his hearing went from a muffled symphony to a crash of heavy metal.
 
"It was a shock switching from hearing aids to the implant," said Stephens. "Everything was louder and clearer. The first week after the surgery was rough."

"He didn't like it at first," added his mother, Dionna Stephens. "Everything was so loud. But he adapted to it."

Prior to his life-changing surgery, Stephens had been wearing increasingly ineffective hearing aids. His parents were told by doctors that Larry would soon be completely deaf and that his best option was a cochlear implant. It was a decision they ­– and Larry -- definitely do not regret.    
 
"It's been a blessing," Larry said. "I thank God for it."

About the only issue coming out Larry's surgery was whether he would be able to play football.

"The doctors told us that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to play contact sports," said his mother. "Coming from an athletic family, that was hard for us, the idea that maybe he wouldn't get to experience sports."

That concern was quickly alleviated. Said Dionna, "The surgeons said he can play football, he just had to have a special helmet and that's what we got him."

Larry thrived on the playing field and in the classroom. He became a star wide receiver at Springfield High School in Springfield, Ohio while making the honor roll.  He began his career at Toledo in 2020 but it wasn't until this season that he has begun to be a factor on the football field for the Rockets. Through five games, he is third on the team with 10 receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Just as important, he has won the respect of his teammates and coaches.

"Larry doesn't let anything stop him from doing what he wants to do," said fellow wide receiver Jerjuan Newton. "No matter what the obstacle is, he won't let it stop him."

"Larry is a tremendous teammate and person," added Head Coach Jason Candle. "He's just a great guy to have around the program and locker room. Very selfless. He's had to deal with some things in his lifetime that others haven't, and he's been able to find that negative that he's been given and turn it into a very positive thing and still be able to do what he loves to do, which is compete in football at a high level."

Stephens has two more seasons to play at Toledo after this one, but he is already looking toward the future. Like many college football players, he has his eyes on playing professional football when his days wearing the Midnight Blue and Gold are over. He also understands that ultimately football will only be a fleeting part of his life, so he takes his academics very seriously. He expects to receive his bachelor's degree in marketing in the spring and will then go on to graduate school, possibly pursuing an MBA in the College of Business and Innovation.

If Stephens' life seems like any other Toledo Football player, that's because it is. Almost. He is aware that his profile as a college football player makes him a role model, especially to the hearing-impaired community. He has done some volunteer work with the Ability Center of Greater Toledo and is eager to do more. Mostly he loves to work with kids of all stripes.

"Whether it is someone with disabilities or just a little boy or girl just looking up to us, it's amazing seeing the look on their faces when we do the Rocket Walk and they have their hands out waiting for a fist bump," said Stephens. "Every time I see a kid, I try to interact with them and make them feel loved.

"That's what I would have wanted when I was a kid."