Meet Smyer's 'renaissance man,' Gavin St. Clair, who played career without knee ligaments

SMYER — Smyer football coach Scott Funke struggles to find the right words to describe Gavin St. Clair. It feels like none of them do justice.

How does one describe a valedictorian all-state clarinet player who gutted through a football career without the outside ligaments in his knees?

"It's hard because he's all over the place, but in a good way," Funke said, "like a renaissance man with the stories he'll tell. He's a pretty impressive guy. I don't know if you can just sum him up succinctly."

It's certainly impossible to label St. Clair, although Dave Campbell's Texas Football did. St. Clair, who was a top-three tackler for the Bobcats each of the past three seasons, was one of five players statewide to receive the Unsung Hero award.

Add that to titles that include student council president and drum major. The recognition came with a scholarship, although St. Clair now has college costs handled. The senior earned a full four-year scholarship through QuestBridge, a organization that aids "outstanding low-income" students who are accepted to highly selective colleges.

St. Clair will attend Boston University with plans for a biochemistry degree. He wants to follow his dad, Christopher, into the medical field. Despite a painful discovery as an eighth grader, St. Clair followed Christopher's lead to the gridiron, as well.

St. Clair's knee swelled to grapefruit size after it slammed into a metal ledge during a pickup basketball game. Doctors discovered he was born without the knee ligaments that support lateral movement. They cautioned against major-contact sports like football, but St. Clair chose to exchange pain for memories.

"My dad is a huge supporter of me," St. Clair said. "He's always a proponent for doing what I want to do. … We both agreed that it was a small price to pay compared to having the memories and experiences that come with being in a sport in high school."

Playing on Friday nights in Smyer like his dad meant the world to St. Clair. He called Christopher his "main idol."

"He's been there with me every step," St. Clair said. "From Pre-K to now … he's gone to every major event. If I had something special going on that day, he'd make me breakfast. He would always be there, cheering me, supporting me on. He's probably the best dad I could've asked for."

Christopher never missed a game.

And neither did St. Clair.

With a knee scope after each season and a large brace when playing, St. Clair fought through the pain to become a staple on defense. This season he moved to middle linebacker, utilizing his intelligence to captain the defense.

"You can tell during the season he's in pain," Funke said. "He never comes up to us and says a word about it. … You knew there was a lot of pain and he was trying to tough it out, which is impressive just to be able to play through a season."

St. Clair impresses in every aspect of his high-school activities. One of his final tasks as a Bobcat will be during track season, when he competes in the 100 meters and discus. Funke doesn't expect the great feats to end there, either.

St. Clair wants to become a cardiothoracic surgeon so he can work with his hands. He's fascinated by the human body and said heart transplants are "probably the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Whatever the career, Funke knows enough that nothing St. Clair does will be surprising.

"Nothing's too big for him, it seems," Funke said. "I could see us watching ABC News and (it's) leading cardiologist in the country Gavin St. Clair talking about something new. I can definitely see that being a thing."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Smyer's Gavin St. Clair completes football career without knee ligaments