A terrifying situation occurred in the second quarter of Friday night’s game between the Memphis Tigers and Rice Owls.

Immediately after Memphis took a 7-6 lead with 6:27 left in the second quarter, the Tigers kicked off to the Owls. Memphis inside linebacker Karmelo Overton was taken down on the field by a pair of Rice special teamers. Overton got up under his own power and ran to the sideline. While jogging, he suddenly collapsed without breaking his fall.

Trainers and medical personnel rushed to the scene to treat Overton. The inside linebacker was then lifted up, placed on the injury cart and, after a long delay, rushed to a local hospital, spending approximately 10 minutes on the field.

“The health and safety of our players is my number one concern,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said as he broke down in tears. “It’s just like my family. When things like that happen, it hurts you. There goes one of my boys, on the ground. So you sit there and you think, ‘I hope he’s okay.’ Part of me is like maybe I want to go to the hospital with him, jump into the back of an ambulance like we all would for someone we care about.

As Overton was carted off the field, several members of the linebacker room came up to him to wish him well on his way to the hospital. Those teammates included inside linebacker Chandler Martin and outside linebacker Bryce Edmondson. Martin confirmed he saw movement in Overton’s limbs, which was a positive update to pass on to the team.

‘Karmelo is my husband. It was hard to see one of my brothers go down like that,” Martin said. “I just told him to stay strong. He was moving his hands and fingers – he’s fine. But it was tough to see one of my boys go down like that. Me and Karmelo actually do everything together. That’s my brother. So I told the guys, ‘Make sure you do it for him, keep your spirits up, don’t let this get us down, and we have to finish it for him.’

Regrouping the team to play football after a devastating moment is no easy task. But seeing Overton’s communication made a difficult situation easier for Silverfield and his staff. Memphis finally took the field after the cart left, with Overton’s status weighing heavily on the minds of the entire roster for the remainder of the 27-20 win over Rice.

“I told our guys, ‘Let’s play football for one of our brothers,’” Silverfield said. “He could talk. He could communicate. There were positives, so let’s go play football and play for him. It weighs in the back of your mind. But you have to focus and play football the rest of the evening. I know Karmelo would say, “Get your butt out there, lift your chin and go play ball.”

Silverfield gave the latest update at his post-match press conference, stating that tests were being carried out at the hospital.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with him,” Silverfield said. “We are conducting a number of tests. He is in a local hospital. But I do ask Tiger fans to keep him in your thoughts and prayers and keep your fingers crossed for a healthy recovery.”