Four years ago, Ryan Shazier dominated the NFL combine. The Steelers would take him in the first round and the linebacker quickly became one of the league's most exciting defenders. But Shazier suffered a serious spinal injury in December and general manager Kevin Colbert has already announced that he won't play in 2018.

But Shazier won't be forgotten; he'll remain involved with the Steelers while he works toward his long-term goal: Returning to the field.

On Sunday, just before the linebackers ran the 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL combine, Steelers scout Mark Gorscak delivered this inspirational message:

The perennially upbeat Shazier tweeted this moments later:

And a short time after that, Shazier spoke with NFL Network about his recovery.

Last month, Shazier told teammate Roosevelt Nix that his injury is only a temporary setback. 

"I've gotta get back, bro," Shazier told Nix during an appearance on Nix's podcast. "Every day, bro. Every day I'm like -- right now, I'm reading a book and it's basically saying trust the process, bro. I'm really trusting the process and I know the end goal. I'm taking it every step of the way but I'm like, I'm giving it like my football effort, like 1,000, everything I've got.

"The therapists, they'll be like 'man, this is crazy,'" Shazier continued. "'I'm happy to be working with an athlete because I've never seen somebody work this hard.' They see progression almost every day. They see some progression they see week to week, they see from me day to day. I've got to get it. I'm really trying to come back and still be a Pro Bowler, still be an All-Pro."