Rutgers player paralyzed from hit

[Monkeydad]

Tragic

Rutgers' Eric LeGrand is paralyzed from neck down - College Football - Rivals.com

[Monkeydad]

Wow, some massive jerks in the comments.

[SmootSmack]

Horrible.

[InsaneBoost]

Terrible to hear, will the NCAA give him any money for this?

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Buster

Wow, some massive jerks in the comments.

dregs of society.

i hope this guy improves. prayers.

[DynamiteRave]

You Tube

Here's the hit in case anyone didn't see it... The hit itself didn't look that terrible but putting your head into someone at full speed... Nasty.

[Schneed10]

Sad. Wish he had kept his head up, he dropped it at the last second and made contact at the very top of his helmet, reminds me of the Dennis Byrd hit in the angle at which he struck.

Hope he regains his functions.

[mooby]

Originally Posted by Buster

Wow, some massive jerks in the comments.

Yeah seriously. I don't want to launch into a "This is what's wrong with America" rant but I wish idiots like that didn't have access to a computer. It's like seriously? You don't have anything better to do than log onto a newspaper website and leave asshole comments about a guy getting paralyzed all day? Pathetic.

Eric LeGrand will be in my thoughts. Luckily in this day and age we've come further than ever in regards to helping paralyzed people recover and find a semblance of their former lives.

[Monkeydad]

Eric LeGrand tribute: Army Black Knights to wear helmet decals - ESPN New York

Army shows support for Eric LeGrand

Army is honoring injured Rutgers player Eric LeGrand.

The Black Knights will have red decals on their helmets starting Saturday with LeGrand's No. 52 and a small "R" for Rutgers in tribute. The decals will remain for the final five games of the season, and Army coach Rich Ellerson says the Black Knights will be involved with LeGrand long after the season-ending game against archrival Navy in December.

The Black Knights had an off week after their overtime loss to Rutgers on Oct. 16. LeGrand was left paralyzed from the neck down after tackling Army kick returner Malcolm Brown.

At the start of the week LeGrand had not shown any sign of improvement. The outpouring of support for the 20-year-old junior defensive tackle has included cards and letters from the Army players.

"Eric LeGrand Believe Fund" Established

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 22, 2010) – Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti announced today the establishment of the “Eric LeGrand Believe Fund” to support Eric LeGrand (Avenel, N.J.) and his family. LeGrand, a junior defensive tackle for the Scarlet Knights, suffered a spinal cord injury Oct. 16 vs. Army.

Contributions to the fund are not tax deductible and can be made by sending a check payable to the“Eric LeGrand Believe Fund” to:

“Eric LeGrand Believe Fund”

PNC Wealth Management

Attn: Kimberly G. Kingsland, Senior Trust Advisor
One Palmer Square Suite 201
Princeton, NJ 08542

And finally an update:

Rutgers Coach Schiano talks to team about Eric LeGrand injury

Rutgers Coach Schiano talks to team about Eric LeGrand injury


By TOM CANAVAN
The Associated Press
Monday, October 25, 2010; 3:55 PM

NEWARK, N.J. -- With Eric LeGrand showing no signs of improvement since suffering a spinal cord injury more than a week ago, Greg Schiano knew the concern and anxiety was increasing for his Rutgers football players.

So when the team held its normal Sunday meeting, Schiano talked to his players about their fears, giving them the opportunity to sort things out.

"I think last night was good," Schiano said Monday. "We had a chance without any deadline ahead of us, we had a chance as a team to talk through some things. Certainly, the unknown is a scary thing. I think there is a strong belief within our team and family and there is a strong belief in God and what he is capable of doing."

LeGrand has been paralyzed from the neck down since making a tackle on a kickoff return against Army on Oct. 16 at New Meadowlands Stadium.

Schiano said after Rutgers' 41-21 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday that there has been no change in the condition of the 20-year-old defensive tackle.

Schiano had no medical update Monday during a conference call of Big East Conference coaches.

However, he felt the team was reassured after its meeting, and it is committed to praying for LeGrand and his family.

Looking back on Rutgers' loss over the weekend, Schiano admitted that the team's concern for LeGrand may have taken a toll on the Scarlet Knights (4-3, 1-1 Big East). In the week leading up to the game, he had asked his players to try to leave their concerns off the field.

"I think it is definitely very difficult to do, but that's the world," Schiano said. "The one thing that I have tried to explain to the players is that the world is a tough place. We had a tough situation, a very tough situation, it kind of puts things in perspective.

"You still have a game on Saturday," he added. "Now, having said all that, I don't know emotionally if we had enough in the tank to compete in the game. It was going to take every bit of our emotional, physical and mental strength to win."

Rutgers was tied at 14 at halftime, but it was no match in the second.

The schedule offers the Scarlet Knights a little help, though. They don't play until next Wednesday, at South Florida.

"The kids have a couple of days to themselves, and then we will get back into it," Schiano said. "I just think everyone needs to sort through things themselves, and then come and attack the preparations for South Florida."

While saying his team is beat up and emotionally worn down, Schiano believes it will respond. As for himself, Schiano said dealing with LeGrand's injury has been tough.

"It is definitely a challenge, but we don't get challenges that are bigger than we can handle," he said. "I think we have to work our way through it. There is fear, there is anxiety. There are all those issues. The best thing we can do is get them out in the open and deal with them and realize we are part of competitive athletics and there will be a game next week. We've put an awful lot into this. It is a game we love and Eric loves."

The outpouring of support for LeGrand has been a positive that Schiano said can't be measured. He has received messages of support from fellow Big East coaches and administrators and football people nationwide.

"(It) has affirmed and reaffirmed what a special world college and competitive athletics is," Schiano said. "There have been a lot of bad things swirling around college football, but if you look at the way people have come together to help Eric and his family, it kind of puts that all to rest."

The New Jersey Nets announced on Monday that they are donating $75,000 to the "Eric LeGrand Believe Fund" to raise awareness of the player's plight.

"It was an unfortunate incident," point guard Devin Harris said after the Nets finished practice at the Prudential Center on Monday. "We want to try to do what we can to help him out of this tough situation."

Sad, no improvement after a week and a half.

[GMScud]

Fantastic news here:
LeGrand has movement in shoulders, “full sensation” throughout body | ProFootballTalk

[MTK]

good news

[mlmpetert]

Wow, great news

[hooskins]

That is great. Terrible sign of the world we are in today when this news will probably get less hits than when he got paralyzed.

[skinsfanthru&thru]

Thats absolutely great news. It's unfortunate that so many of these cases don't end happily so I hope that kid makes the most of his life.

[mooby]

That's awesome.

@Hoo: Agreed.