During Monday’s practice, Ole Miss tight end Damarcus Thomas suffered a serious injury and had to be airlifted to a hospital. Reports stated that he was unable to move any parts of his lower body.
After being unresponsive on the field following his injury, Thomas has regained movement in his extremities. In a statement, Ole Miss said that doctors are encouraged thus far.
“Following the injury at practice this morning, Damarcus traveled by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford and was airlifted from there to Memphis Regional Medical Center,” Ole Miss Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Pat Jernigan said in a statement. “Evaluations have all be positive to this point. He has regained movement in all his extremities, and the physicians are optimistic.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin broke the news of Thomas’ injury during his media availability on Monday.
“Obviously hopefully this is some severe stinger,” Kiffin said, via the Clarion Ledger. “I did ask them, the medical staff. They said that that does happen sometimes. I’m just praying that that’s somehow what it is.”
“They keep touching him going ‘Do you feel this? Do you feel this?’ He keeps saying, ‘No,’” Kiffin continued. “And you’re thinking about your own kid. I don’t know. That’s the first time I’d seen something where I just called [Kiffin’s son] Knox’s mom and said I couldn’t care less whether he ever plays football ever after seeing that.”
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“It was just a normal football play,” Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy said, via 247. “A freak accident. We’re praying for DJ (DaMarcus Thomas). Hopefully he has a speedy recovery. We’re just all praying for him, and we really hope to have him back soon … We didn’t really know what happened or what’s happening right now. We’re all just in shock, you know. I can’t really say too much about it…just shock. Just one of those freak accidents that happens on the football field that you only hear about, you just never really see. It’s kind of just eye-opening.”
