Tennessee receiver Ahmad Paige was taken by ambulance to UT Medical Center with a neck injury after hitting a brick wall in the southeast corner of Neyland Stadium during Friday night’s practice.
The sophomore was strapped to a backboard as coaches ended practice early.
“Our thoughts are obviously with Ahmad,” UT coach Lane Kiffin said. “Any neck injury you have to be very safe with.
“He does have movement in his legs and his arms so that’s great obviously. We’re being very safe with it and getting him over to the emergency room now.”
Paige was released from UT hospital after tests came back normal.
He is expected to make a full recovery, UT athletic trainer Jason McVeigh said in a statement.
Players knelt around Paige before exiting the stadium.
“He was talking and communicating,” Kiffin said. “Obviously, he was a little bit scared, just when you have that many people around you and (they) put you in a brace.
“That’s a scary thing and they tell you not to move. So he was a little bit scared. Things seemed as good as they could at that point.”
Paige was injured trying to reel in a pass on a fade route from Jonathan Crompton.
There is little space between the corner of the end zone and the brick façade that was put in place before last season as part of UT’s renovations to Neyland Stadium.
The injury cast a pall on an otherwise positive night for the Vols as they practiced in front of approximately 2,000 enthusiastic fans.
Practice Report: Kiffin said he was pleased with the scrimmage, in particular UT’s defense.
“I thought the defense really, really picked it up and came with a lot of energy,” Kiffin said. “I thought they took it to the offense a little bit early, especially in the passing game with the pass rush.”
A chess match ensued. In order to slow UT’s pass rush, the offensive coaches countered with a battery of screen passes and relied more on the running game, led by tailback Montario Hardesty.
“I did think the offense ran the ball extremely well,” Kiffin said. “Hardesty had a ton of yards today, a lot of long runs. The guys did really well for him up front.”
Kiffin said Hardesty has been a leader in offseason conditioning and film study.
“It’s a great story anytime you have a guy that has worked so hard in the offseason,” Kiffin said. “He’s not been an issue at all. I think he was one of the first guys to buy in to what we were doing.”
Laps: Like quarterback B.J. Coleman on Thursday, Crompton was forced to run a lap around the field with center Josh McNeil following a fumbled snap on Friday.
“The ball is so valuable,” Kiffin said. “Turnover margin is how you win and lose games more than anything else that you do.”
Kiffin implements the punishment for any player who fumbles a snap or is called for offsides or a false start.
Some boos were heard from the crowd when Crompton turned the ball over, likely a carryover from UT’s disappointing 5-7 season in 2008.
“You’re seeing them in their third day in the system so we have a lot of practices left just in the spring,” Kiffin said. “The last thing we want to do is say somebody can’t do something right now.”
Vinson’s Shoulder: Cornerback Brent Vinson left practice early with a bum left shoulder. Vinson could have returned and is thought to be fine.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 80
knoxhomeowner writes:
prayers are with you ahmad
iowavol writes:
Godspeed Ahmad. My prayers are with you.
vailvol writes:
2000 fans. weak turnout. i thought of driving up from atlanta good thing i didn't. guess we are all saving up for the ow game.
get well soon ahmad we need you back.
SkimMilky writes:
Something has to be done about that wall. It's barely one stride away from the endzone....this could be a safety hazard.
Plasticman writes:
Good news that he had movement in his arms and legs. Keep him in our prayers that he has a full recovery!
matthewperkins#207477 writes:
Our prayers are with you Ahmad! We pray for a speedy recovery and that you can get back to classes and practice soon.
lowman4vols writes:
van hook?
surfmaster writes:
Why put a brick wall that close to the corner of the end zone? We have enough trouble trying to keep our players healthy as it is.
VOLS_R_BEST_DEAL_WITH_IT writes:
A Brick Wall????????? IDK how on earth that would happen but lord I wish him the best. Sounds like he is gonna be ok. We need him when we go into over time games with UK!! I have no idea how he got that open on that play two years ago. Well good luck to him, any Vol always has our prayers and thoughts the Vol nation is behind you buddy.
tractoronthepole writes:
Hang in there guy, hope it is nothing serious.
NoMoreWooAfterGoodOleRockyTop writes:
Perfect...#8 led him into a brick wall. You just can't make up a story like that.
wildberry14 writes:
you seem to be thinking of quintin hancock
phoenix_1 writes:
God bless and keep you.
Maxxgas writes:
That's exactally what I was thinking...
huntined#565710 writes:
Pray that this is not serious..
vol_in_bigten_land writes:
I'm with you, move the wall. God bless you Ahmad!
OrangeMandM writes:
Prayers are with Amhad. Get well soon. On a funny note, when I read the headline, I thought it was talking about Eric Berry....
VOLS_R_BEST_DEAL_WITH_IT writes:
Ah wait that was him. . . . dang don't I feel like an a*-
oh well it happens lol
NorthwestVol writes:
Couple of comments:
1: Ahmad, I, as all Vol fans, hope for your quick and complete recovery.
2. Vol Admin: Fix the problem: "There is little space between the corner of the end zone and the brick façade that was put in place before last season as part of UT’s renovations to Neyland Stadium." Kinda puts a cramp to any claim to world class facilities, but more importantly, it can apparently cause serious injury. Do not let this happen again!
eduardo writes:
Another brick in the wall. What the heck!!! On a football field. Makes as much sense as Phat Phils buyout!!
dvols writes:
hurry back ahmad, we need u on the field and u need the coaching this spring
crompton please quit throwin to the cheerleaders!
spencer1989#206886 writes:
Exactly....And instead of "could be" a safety hazard....It is. Think of it this way...If someone hit it during pratice (and that's where the wall is going to stay), then someone can hit it during game time. Regardless of the player or team, no one needs to get hurt over a stupid brick wall.
BuckheadVol1 writes:
Hope all is well Ahmad! God bless, my prayers are with you!
DennisVols writes:
Agreed, Some padding should have been put into place there.
I know injuries are part of the game but this kind of thing can and should be prevented
GREATVOLSAFIRE writes:
Our prayers to you! How about putting some padding on the wall!
SuperVolfan writes:
How about some thick padding with a brick print on it! It'll still look good and be safe. Problem solved. Get well soon Ahmad! We need you!
newtonrail writes:
This is a wall that has always been there. There was padding there for years until we started putting the aesthetic looking brick facade up everywhere in the stadium. The wall is the thickness of a brick further out.
panavol writes:
Like president Reagan said: "TEAR DOWN THAT WALL". Our prayers are with you, Paige!
GO VOLS!
bluetick writes:
Yea that wall there is stupid! I hope Paige is okay but if they don't move that thing there are going to be some serious injuries down the road. Great way to waste about 100K.
Just hope he will be okay and ready to play by fall. He is one of the guys I was hoping to see with more playing time.
I_Bleed_ORANGE writes:
yeah the wall is deadly but when a game is going on there is hundreds of people and media behind the endzone so the players can just run over them instead of hitting a wall. i love ahmad i think if he turns out to be ok he will do very good things for our offense
GR82BAVOL writes:
Way to go ladies. That's the ole spirit.
Between you morons and the fans booing Crompton for turning it over, his confidence in his own stadium might just reach ZERO by gameday.
Goofy, just freakin goofy.
BillsBrother writes:
Ahmad will be fine and this will be just one more story in the growing legend of the Tennessee Volunteers;
"Remember when Ahmad Paige tried to run through the brick wall to impress Coach K?" Charge on, Ahmad!!! Practice hard, Play hard!
bluetick writes:
Nice post my man!
Did anybody see him hit the wall and how hard it was? RichRollin? Did you see it?
MrBamSeydu writes:
Vinson is always complaining about his shoulder. The fans boo'ing isn't going to help get Bryce Brown. They shouldn't have built a stupid brick wall just to make the stadium look better if it compromises our players health.
At least the basketball team won today.
Slystone writes:
My prayers are with Ahmad. As for Crompton - still not sold on him. Can someone please send Heaps tape of this guy. Maybe he'll see why we need him so bad.
QB_10 writes:
Ahmed get well
Crompton just go away
Stephens please get healthy and take the job that is yours = Starting QB....(BJ nice kid, just not UT or SEC material)
ajbake writes:
Ahmad Paige is a waste. Horrible student, bad work ethic, and a very shady character. Let's open up another scholarship for a more deserving student.
bluetick writes:
"he fans boo'ing isn't going to help get Bryce Brown."
If there is anything I hate, it is f^*()_^!! boobirds! I lose patients with people like that. If I were there and sitting next to someone booing, I swear I'd be in a fight!
QB_10 writes:
aj- wow i guess he's not getting an xmas card....
Slystone writes:
Surely you meant someone else.
DisorientedVol writes:
I'm guessing you are a "boobird", aren't you.
CoastGuardVol writes:
God Bless you Ahmad. Our thoughts and prayers are with you> GO VOLS!!!
OrangeMagic writes:
No, but I remember the time Bobby Boucher showed up at halftime and the Mud Dogs won the Bourbon Bowl.
ajbake writes:
also, i think god might be a bit busy right now... i doubt ahmad paige's neck is on his mind... to the tennessee taxpayers: how do you feel that a full scholarship goes to a student that earns 40% on course work and attends 25% of courses?
tums writes:
Ahh yes, another Bama/Florida fan found their way to our board. I want to see more of Paige, and have wanted to for 2 years now.
utmdm writes:
Get well soon. Prayers are with you. God is big enough to handle all things. He is the ultimate in multitasking. I smell a new loper. Too bad the crowd wasn't larger. My son and I would have been there but just getting over a sinus thing and did not want to chance sitting in drizzle.
tums writes:
Spew your phooey elsewhere.
knoxhomeowner writes:
Scholarships are VASF-not tax dollars. If he can make the grades he is comfortable with, and be eligible to play, who cares if he goes to 0% of his courses? When a man is possibly injured in this fashion the last thing and decent person is going to do is bash him......sad
MrBamSeydu writes:
I was at the spring practice and I own six speaker cities. I am worth three a half million dollars that the government knows about.
Okay, I wasn't there really.
BillVol writes:
When UT started putting the brick around the field, in the back of my mind I wondered if anyone would ever get hurt. It's happened already. Oh, but that brick's pretty, though. Neyland Stadium Master Plan. Beautiful.
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