For the second consecutive week, a Clemson football game saw an opposing player leave the field on a cart due to injury.
There was no immediate update on Virginia Tech linebacker Gabe Williams’ condition after the game, though his coach expected to have more information later Saturday night.
Midway through the fourth quarter of the Tigers’ 24-14 victory at Virginia Tech, freshman linebacker Gabe Williams suffered an apparent leg injury. He was placed on a stretcher and taken off the field in an ambulance.
Williams sustained his injury during a Clemson rushing play around the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter. The game at Lane Stadium was delayed for approximately eight minutes as trainers assessed him and eventually brought out a stretcher.
Williams’ left knee was placed in an air cast as he was taken off the field, according to multiple reports. During the delay, both teams knelt on their respective sidelines.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney walked over to check on Williams and spoke with Hokies coach Brent Pry. After the game, Pry stated that he did not have an immediate update on Williams’ condition.
“Gabe’s worked really hard to earn an opportunity to play down the stretch,” 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, a true freshman listed as a STAR (hybrid safety/linebacker) on Virginia Tech’s roster, was making his second appearance after debuting against Syracuse last week. He played high school football at St. Vincent Pallotti in Bowie, Maryland.
For the second straight week, a Clemson opponent had a player leave the field due to injury. Last week, Louisville safety Ben Perry exited the game in Clemson with an undisclosed injury.
Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said after the game that trainers worked to stabilize Perry’s neck following his injury. ESPN reported that Perry was “alert and talking” as he left the field.
Perry was taken to a local hospital by ambulance. On Sunday, Louisville announced that all tests came back normal, and he was able to fly back with the team that Saturday night as planned.
After the game on Saturday, Swinney expressed his “great respect” for all the players and coaches involved in football, emphasizing that it is a “hard game.”
“Everybody puts so much into this, and nobody wants to see anyone get injured,” Swinney said. “These are scary situations. At the end of the day, we’re all competitors, we all compete, we all want to win, but we don’t want to see anybody get hurt.”
Swinney also spoke about Williams, saying, “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 improved to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the ACC with its 10-point victory and will wrap up conference play next weekend at No. 18 Pitt. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech dropped to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in ACC play.
