Mark Schlabach3 minutes of reading
Virginia RB Ferris Jones gets on the wagon after the big hit
Ferris Jones walks off the field following a Virginia touchdown in the third quarter against Louisville.
A Report issued to XThe school said the surgery was a success and Jones was able to walk for a while on Saturday morning.
Jones remains under observation and will be transferred to the Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in Louisville for further care when his medical team deems it appropriate, Virginia said. A Virginia official had previously reported that Jones had movement on all fronts.
Jones, a senior from Alexandria, Virginia, was injured Thursday night after catching a pass late in the third quarter. He tripped on the play and fell forward into a pile of several Louisville players. As the play unfolded near the Louisville sideline, Cardinals coaches immediately ran over to help. Cavaliers wide receiver Malik Washington picked off a fumble and scored a touchdown.
Virginia soldiers, some in tears, knelt and watched in stunned silence. Jones is a running mate with Mike Hollins, who survived a shooting that killed three of their teammates last November. Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Devin Chandler, LaVell Davis Jr. and De’Sean Perry.
Jones was eventually placed in a cart, completely immobile. Hollins wore Perry’s number on the back of his hands in a white ribbon. Has 41, one of the players who got close to the cart before driving it.
“That’s the hardest reality of the game we play, every play ends that way, and you don’t want that for anybody,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said after the game. “Man, I know one thing: [Jones] He’s a tough young man who puts it on the line every time he goes out for this football team. [We’re] Hope and pray that he is going to make a full recovery. I put it in the Lord’s hands, I ask for it in advance and hope it happens.
ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this report.
