Bryson Shaw is stepping back onto the lacrosse field - and while it’s been a few years since he last suited up with a stick in hand, this isn’t unfamiliar territory for him.
The Boston Cannons of the Premier Lacrosse League announced this week that Shaw is joining their roster, marking a return to a sport he once dominated. Before he became a hard-hitting safety at Ohio State and USC, Shaw was an All-American midfielder at The Bullis School in Maryland - one of the nation’s premier high school lacrosse programs. Back then, he was known just as much for his field vision and two-way play in lacrosse as he was for his football instincts.
Shaw’s journey has been anything but conventional. He spent three seasons at Ohio State from 2019 to 2021, making his biggest impact in his final year with the Buckeyes. That season, he racked up 59 tackles and snagged an interception, stepping into a key role in the Buckeyes’ secondary.
After that, he transferred to USC, where he continued to bring physicality and consistency to the Trojans’ defense. Over three seasons in Los Angeles, Shaw tallied 128 tackles and added another interception to his career totals - a steady presence in a program that went through some major transitions during his time there.
Now, he’s pivoting back to his lacrosse roots - a move that may surprise some, but makes perfect sense when you look at his background. Shaw isn’t just a football player trying out a new sport; he’s a legitimate lacrosse talent who put his stick down to chase a football dream, and now he’s picking it back up with plenty of high-level athletic experience under his belt.
The crossover between football and lacrosse isn’t new, and Shaw isn’t the only athlete to make the leap. The most high-profile example in recent years might be Pat Spencer - the former Tewaaraton Award winner at Loyola who transitioned into professional basketball and is now with the Golden State Warriors. That kind of multi-sport versatility is rare, but it shows just how transferable elite athleticism and competitive drive can be.
For the Cannons, Shaw brings a unique blend of toughness, field IQ, and physicality - traits honed in the grind of Division I football. And for Shaw, it’s a return to a sport that helped shape his identity long before he was making tackles in front of 100,000 fans.
It’ll be fascinating to see how quickly he adjusts to the pace of the PLL game, but one thing’s for sure: Bryson Shaw isn’t starting from scratch. He’s just picking up where he left off - this time, on a different kind of field.