​John Cominsky has redirected the energy he needed to ascend from an underdog at Barberton High School to a starter on an NFL playoff team, using his commitment and passion to promote health education after retiring as a defensive lineman in March 2025.Cominsky recently told the Beacon Journal he suffered “three significant” concussions as a member of the Detroit Lions in 2023. Those injuries contributed to him leaving the NFL and shifting more of his attention to assisting communities in Northeast Ohio through his Cominsky Family Foundation.For the past six months, Cominsky has been making weekly visits to a drug and alcohol treatment center in Massillon, where he works with patients on breathing techniques and light exercise.“It empowers an individual to see, ‘Hey, if I move and breathe, I can flush this thought, I can get back to center, I can start my day off right and I can change my attitude,’” said Cominsky, who lives in Hinckley.Watch Ohio High School Football Live on NFHS Network all yearIn the meantime, Cominsky’s supporters are honoring him for his on-field achievements. He will be inducted into the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 6 and the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 25.The 30-year-old Cominsky said he’s eager to celebrate his fellow inductees and express gratitude to his backers.“I’m just proud to represent all those people that invested in me,” he said.More local sports: Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s new class has Akron Zips greats and former NFL playersHow John Cominsky completed an unlikely journey to the NFL Cominsky transformed from a lightly recruited jack-of-all-trades Barberton football player who quarterbacked the Magics as a senior to a 285-pound defensive end at Division II University of Charleston in West Virginia.Eating became a job for Cominsky in college as he gained about 70 pounds and evolved into a dominant force in the trenches. He earned All-America status and the Mountain East Conference Defensive Player of the Year award en route to becoming the first Charleston player to be drafted in 68 years when the Atlanta Falcons chose him in the fourth round (No. 135 overall) in 2019.Cominsky played five seasons in the NFL (three with the Falcons and two with the Lions) and started 20 of the 57 regular-season games in which he appeared, compiling 107 tackles, with 11 for loss and 7.5 sacks, 25 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and six passes defensed. In Cominsky’s final season, he started 11 of 17 regular-season games and all three playoff games for the 2023 Lions while they made a run to the NFC championship game.As a member of the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame’s board of directors and the president of the Barberton Sports Hall of Fame, Rob Culbertson championed Cominsky’s candidacy for his upcoming inductions. Culbertson was a teacher, athletic trainer and athletic director at Barberton during Cominsky’s high school years.“It is just mind-bogg