San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall has endured a challenging first year in the NFL. The season didn’t unfold as planned, beginning with injuries during training camp. Just as he was nearing recovery and aiming to be ready for Week 1, tragedy struck—Pearsall was shot in the chest.

Remarkably, the resilient wideout returned to action after missing only the first six games. As his rookie campaign concludes this Sunday, Pearsall reflected on the obstacles he has faced and the valuable lessons they’ve taught him.

“I think you can always find positives in the darkness, and I think that’s something that I took away from it,” Pearsall said on Thursday. “It was easy for me to look at all the adversity and be negative of myself, but there’s positives that came from that, learning lessons that came from that. And I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is to look at those rather than all the adversity that I had to go through.

“But at the end of the day, those adverse moments make me a stronger person, so I think all those things needed to happen. Everything happens for a reason, and God has a plan.”

When asked to evaluate his rookie season, Pearsall offered a candid assessment.

“I think there was a lot of highs and lows, and a lot of things that I got to learn from,” Pearsall shared. “And I think that’s just the player I am, though. I receive those coaching points, and receive the things that maybe I didn’t do as good as a job on, and go out there and fix those things, and continue to work at it.”

Pearsall recalled a conversation with general manager John Lynch on draft day, where he expressed his commitment to being a hard worker.

“I told Mr. Lynch I’m a workhorse,” Pearsall said. “And I truly believe that, because anything that might happen, I’m gonna go out there and continue to work, and continue to work in my craft and get better. And I think I’m gonna just continue to do that and be myself.”