Tulane safety Devon Walker is stable, but will remain in the ICU at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla., after a collision during Saturday's game against Tulsa left him motionless and ultimately with a cervical spine fracture.
"In a three hour surgery at St. Francis hospital in Tulsa, neurosurgeons stabilized his spine," Dr. Greg Stewart, Tulane's team physician said in a statement. "He is now in recovery and we anticipate Devon will remain in ICU for the next few days. He is in stable condition and it will be several days before we can assess his condition post-surgery."
Walker dove to make a head-first tackle on Tulsa running back Willie Carter when he collided with teammate Julius Warmsley instead.
The university is updating fans about Walker's status through its website. It also allows people to post well wishes that will be shared with Walker and his family as he continues to recover.
Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers player, who was paralyzed during a hit against Army in 2010, told USA Today he planned to reach out to Walker.
"Right now, he is in shock," LeGrand said in a phone interview with the paper. "He has no idea what is going to happen to his body or how his life is going to change. Basically, everything that is unknown is so scary. It's one of the scariest things in life, because you have no idea where your life is about to take you."
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