Some four years after a football injury left Eric LeGrand paralyzed from the neck down, the young man is now a Rutgers University graduate.

LeGrand also spoke at the commencement ceremony, the Associated Press reported, after he completed his degree in labor relations online. Living at the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation for five-and-a-half months after his injury, he took a class via Skype and gradually expanded his coarse load from there on out.

A former defensive tackle, LeGrand was chasing down the ball carrier on a kickoff in a game against Army when he sustained his life-altering injury. He spoke Sunday about never giving up and four years later he is able to breathe on his own and stand with the help of a metal frame.

"I'm moving my shoulders here. I'm moving myself forward," LeGrand, 23, told the cheering crowd. "Don't ever let someone tell you you can't do something!"

Rutgers went though an odd commencement speaker ordeal. First, the school invited Condoleezza Rice, but she declined close to the ceremony date amidst the public opposition from several students and faculty. The school then reportedly invited LeGrand, but rescinded the invitation in favor of former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean.

The school ended up having both LeGrand and Kean speak at the ceremony. Rutgers president Robert Barchi publicly apologized to LeGrand for the school's "miscommunication" with him.

Kean was the main speaker, so he was awarded $35,000, which he requested be used to establish a scholarship fund in LeGrand's name.

According to NJ.com, LeGrand's mother Karen even drove her son from the Kessler Institute in West Orange to Rutgers' campus in New Brunswick for night classes. It was not exactly convenient, but she knew her son was driven.

"From the very beginning, that was my hope for him to him to finish school," she told NJ.com. "Initially, I didn't know how he was going to do it. I really didn't. Thank God Rutgers was very supportive in that and they made it possible for him. As long as he was willing and he wanted to finish, I would do whatever I needed to do to make sure that he finished."

It was the commitment that showed in LeGrand. His football teammates, his classmates and the nation has noticed it in the former football player, as LeGrand has become a public figure since his injury.

"It took a lot of dedication," LeGrand told NJ.com. "The best thing about it is I was just so used to my routine at school that when January came, it was just, 'All right, it's time to take a class.' I was only taking one. It took a lot of effort just to take that one. It felt like taking four. It just felt like it was something I needed to do, especially since I was done playing football. I needed to get my degree for my career."

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