Thoughts and Prayers for Eric LeGrand

Eric is a local kid -- I think he was from Avenel and not Iselin-- and he played football for Colonia High School before he played for Rutgers. This weekend, while playing football for the Scarlet Knights, he suffered a serious injury.

From the Facebook page "Thoughts and prayers for Eric LeGrand":

(This weekend,) a Rutgers victory was overshadowed by what was a frightening injury to Eric LeGrand. He suffered a neck injury make a tackle on a kickoff late in the 4th quarter today against Army, and remained motionless on the field for over 5 minutes before he was carted off on a stretcher. The reports do not sound promising, and we ask that you keep Eric in your thoughts.

Rutgers has put up a website for anyone who wants to send a Get Well message to Eric. It can be reached HERE. A news release issued by Rutgers, yesterday, on that same site, said:

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (October 17, 2010) - Rutgers junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand (Avenel, N.J.) suffered a spinal cord injury in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game vs. Army. The injury was at the C3-C4 level and emergency surgery was performed by doctors throughout the night at Hackensack University Medical Center to stabilize the spine.

“We want to say thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, kind words, and well wishes,” the LeGrand family said. “We appreciate every single thought. Eric is in good spirits and we are praying for a full recovery.”

Eric is resting in the intensive care unit at Hackensack University Medical Center and will remain there for the near future. Currently, he has no movement below the neck.

“Eric, his family and the Rutgers Football family believe he will recover,” said Rutgers head football coach Greg Schiano. “We ask our fans and the entire Rutgers community to believe and pray for Eric as he begins the recovery process.”