Eric LeGrand, the junior defensive tackle of Rutgers broke his neck after a tackle on a kick return in a game against Army. He had a surgery late on Saturday and fears of his inability to walk again remains.
The C3 and C4 vertebrae were fractured during the tackle and had to be operated upon to steady the spinal cord. Eric has been kept in the intensive care and is said to be in good, positive spirits and recovering speedily. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano spent the whole night at the hospital with LeGrand.
LeGrand ran at full speed and collided helmet-first with Army’s Malcolm Brown at the 25 yard line. The incident took place after a 22-yard kick return with five minutes left in the fourth quarter at New Meadowlands Stadium with Rutgers winning 23-20 in overtime. After the collision both the players dropped to the ground but though Brown got up, LeGrand laid motionless. He tried to lift his head but couldn’t, his hands appeared to hobble while his legs lingered over the ground.
Rutgers medical team along with their head trainer David McCune ran to the ground to assist LeGrand. Soon after, Rutgers coach Schiano followed him to the ground to inspect his fallen player.
LeGrand laid immobile on the ground for about seven minutes before being lifted on a backboard with his body and head still. He was taken off the field to an ambulance which took him to the Hackensack University Medical Center.
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