Rutgers Player Paralyzed

[Tiger Wench]

Thoughts and prayers to LeGrand and his family, and the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed below the neck after sustaining a spinal cord injury when he tried to make a tackle in the Scarlet Knights’ win over Army on Saturday.

LeGrand, a junior from Avenel, N.J., had emergency surgery Saturday night at Hackensack University Medical Center to stabilize the spine. He was in the intensive care unit and will remain there for the near future.

“Eric’s spirits were as good as you can expect,” Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano said Sunday in a teleconference. “He was cognizant of me being there, his mom, everybody. He’s a fighter.”

LeGrand was injured while tackling Army’s Malcolm Brown in a collision on a kickoff after Rutgers tied the score at 17-17 in the fourth quarter at New Meadowlands Stadium. LeGrand lay motionless on the field for several minutes as medical personnel from both teams attended to him.

A day after LeGrand’s injury, scenes of hits to the head repeated across the country in N.F.L. games. On the same field where LeGrand was injured, Detroit Lions linebacker Zack Follett was motionless for several minutes after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Giants defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul on a kickoff in the fourth quarter. Follett was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field.

Follett was also at Hackensack University Medical Center on Sunday night, but he had feeling in his extremities and there was no evidence of a spinal fracture, the Lions said.

“There are still a lot of other things we need to test and we need to see with him, so let’s keep him in our prayers,” Lions Coach Jim Schwartz said, adding, “Any time they bring a backboard out for a player, it’s a scary situation.”

Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson sustained head injuries Sunday when they collided on a helmet-to-helmet hit in their game. Cleveland Browns receivers Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were knocked out of their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers by hits to the head.

On Sunday, the Rutgers athletic department Web site featured a large photograph of LeGrand under the headline “Get Well Eric!”

Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti said that he and other university officials were spending time with LeGrand’s family “around the clock.”

Schiano met with his players early on Sunday to update them on LeGrand’s condition, and he said the trying circumstances would bring the players closer together.

“He is a special guy and a guy who really loves to play the game,” Schiano said of LeGrand. “I think a lot of people like it a lot. This kid loves it, from being in the locker room to practice to the games to the night before the games. He’s a great teammate.”

Sept. 23 was the 10th anniversary of a similar incident in college football, when Penn State cornerback Adam Taliaferro sustained a career-ending spinal cord injury

Doctors initially feared that Taliaferro would not walk again, but after a remarkable recovery, he led the Nittany Lions onto the field for their opener in 2001, jogging for a short burst as he emerged from the tunnel.

Taliaferro said he planned to speak with LeGrand in the coming days once the effects of the medication from the operation wore off.

“For this to happen, I definitely want to be there for him,” Taliaferro said in a telephone interview. “I know what he’s going through. It’s not just two days or a week. I’m always going to be there.”

Schiano talked to Penn State Coach Joe Paterno on Saturday night and contacted Taliaferro’s father to consult him on how spinal cord injuries affect a family.

“This thing is more mental than it is physical,” Taliaferro said of the recovery process. “You ask, ‘Why me?’ But you figure, I’ve got to get out of this situation.”

Schiano, who was a graduate assistant and then the defensive backs coach at Penn State from 1990 to 1996, declined to say what Paterno had told him, but he said the purpose of the conversation was to make sure he handled the situation properly at Rutgers. Schiano pointed to Taliaferro’s story as a source of inspiration for LeGrand and his teammates at Rutgers.

“We’re going to believe,” Schiano said. “Eric LeGrand is going to walk onto that field with us. That’s what we believe.”