Heart condition cuts short Asiedu's football career
Announced late Wednesday, Penn State true freshman offensive lineman Nana Asiedu was forced to give up football due to a genetic heart condition.
Nana Asiedu was among the top offensive linemen to come out of the Class of 2018, finishing in the Rivals rankings at No. 141 overall and No. 11 among all offensive tackles in the class.
“Nana is an extremely rare talent – long, athletic, one of those guys who is strong physically and then athletically gifted,” coach Joe Mangano, Asiedu's high school coach at North Stafford (Va.) told BWI. “We did the bench press... and he hit 355 for one rep for being his age with his long arms. He did 225 18 times the week before, so he’s got some pretty good physical gifts. When you’re the left tackle, you’re kind of the cornerstone of the offensive line, and that’s what he was this year for us.”
Expecting to provide that same type of stability for Penn State down the line, Asiedu has instead been forced to give up the game due to the genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition can lead to cardiac arrest, especially among young athletes.