Yahoo Sports Virginia Tech player leaves Clemson game on ambulance after apparent leg injury
For the second week in a row, an opposing player had to be carted off the field because of injury during a Clemson football game.
There was no immediate update of Virginia Tech linebacker Gabe Williams’ status after the game, but his coach anticipated one later Saturday night.
Midway through the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ 24-14 win at Virginia Tech, VT freshman linebacker Williams suffered an apparent leg injury, was mounted onto a stretcher and left on an ambulance that drove onto the field.
Williams was injured on a Clemson rushing play at roughly the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Saturday’s game at Lane Stadium was delayed roughly eight minutes as trainers evaluated Williams and eventually brought out a stretcher.
Williams’ left knee was in an air cast when he left the field, per multiple reports. During the delay, both teams took a knee on their respective sidelines.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney also walked over to check on Williams and speak with Hokies coach Brent Pry. Pry said postgame he didn’t have an immediate update on Williams’ status.
“Gabe’s worked really hard getting an opportunity to play down the stretch here,” Pry said. “It’s unfortunate. Obviously, the team supports him and is thinking about him right now. I’m sure I’ll get an update later this evening.”
Williams is true freshman listed as a STAR (hybrid safety/linebacker) on Virginia Tech’s roster and was making his second appearance after playing vs. Syracuse last week. He played high school football at St. Vincent Pallotti in Bowie, Maryland.
It was the second week in a row a Tigers opponent had a player leave the field via injury after Louisville safety Ben Perry left last week’s game in Clemson with an undisclosed injury.
UL coach Jeff Brohm said postgame that trainers had worked to stabilize Perry’s neck after he was injured on a play, and ESPN reported he was “alert and talking” as he left the field.
Perry was transported to a local hospital via ambulance. Louisville announced on Sunday that all tests on Perry came back normal and he was able to fly back with the team normally that Saturday night.
Swinney said postgame on Saturday that he has “great respect” for all the players and coaches involved in the sport of football, which is a “hard game.”
“Everybody puts so much into this and nobody wants to see anybody get injured,” Swinney said. “These are scary situations. At the end of the day, we’re all competitors, we all compete, we all wanna win but don’t wanna see anybody get hurt.”
He added of Williams: “Hopefully, he’s going to be okay. We’ve all been on both sides of that, playing and coaching,and those are scary situations. So, prayers are with him and hopefully he’ll be OK.”
No. 23 Clemson moved to 7-2 and 6-1 in the ACC with its 10-point win and closes conference play at No. 18 Pitt next weekend. Virginia Tech fell to 5-5 (3-3 ACC).
Clemson football: Next game
Who: No. 23 Clemson (7-2, 6-1 ACC) at No. 18 Pitt (7-2, 3-2 ACC)
Where: Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh
When: Noon Saturday, Nov. 16
TV: ESPN
