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Pitt and Rutgers have more than football on their minds heading into this week's game at Heinz Field.
Tragedy struck Rutgers last weekend when one of its players suffered a spinal cord injury in a 23-20 overtime victory against Army and became paralyzed below the neck.
Eric LeGrand, a backup junior defensive tackle, underwent emergency surgery to stabilize his spine Saturday night at Hackensack University Medical Center. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound LeGrand remains in intensive care.
Coach Dave Wannstedt said he corresponded Sunday with Rutgers coach Greg Schiano and offered well wishes from the Pitt football program. Pitt (3-3, 1-0 Big East) hosts Rutgers (4-2, 1-0) at noon Saturday.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Eric LeGrand, and we're hopeful that he'll make a speedy recovery," Wannstedt said.
Wannstedt said he has never had a player or a teammate suffer a spinal cord injury, and he can only imagine what Schiano is going through.
"As a coach," Wannstedt said, "you feel as if your players are your kids, and you feel that responsibility to protect them on the field and off the field."
LeGrand, 20, of Avenel, N.J. was injured with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter on kickoff coverage at New Meadowlands Stadium. He was trying to make a tackle and had a violent collision with Army's Malcolm Brown. LeGrand was motionless for several minutes before being carted off the field.
As of Monday afternoon, doctors were unsure about the severity or permanence of the injury. LeGrand's spinal cord was damaged at the C-3 and C-4 level of the vertebrae.
In addition to paralysis, C3 injuries often require lifelong use of a ventilator in order to breath.
Pitt will show its support by putting a large banner at Petersen Events Center this week for the Pitt student-athletes to sign and offer best wishes and prayers. The banner will be moved to the Student Union later this week for students and faculty to sign, and will be displayed in the student section at Heinz Field during the game.
"Our prayers definitely go out to those guys," wide receiver Cam Saddler said. "We hate to hear something like that, but you can't go out there playing and thinking about that."
Added linebacker Tristan Roberts, "Everybody wants to win. At the same time, everybody respects the other players. We're not trying to hurt each other. But you can't pull off and be afraid that something is going to happen."
The odds of sustaining a spinal cord injury with incomplete recovery while playing football are about 1 in 100,000. From 1977-2008, there were 295 football players who suffered a spinal cord injury, including 243 in high school, 33 in college, 13 in pros and six in sandlot, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
In 2008, the most recent year with data available, there were 13 cervical cord injuries, although none of them involved a college player. There are approximately 75,000 college football players. The catastrophic injury rate for college players is 1.38 per 100,000.
Pitt has experienced the heartbreak of having one of its players suffer paralysis. In March 1996, wide receiver Demale Stanley went head-first into a padded concrete wall during spring drills at the Cost Center and was paralyzed. The annual award for the football team's Most Inspirational Player is named after Stanley.
Former Pitt quarterback Pete Gonzalez, who played on the 1996 team, will never forget that fateful day 14 years ago.
"It was very difficult for us, and I can't imagine what it was like for (Stanley)," he said. "The guy you work with and play with and sweat with, and then not being able to move. Psychologically, it was tough on every player. The reality is there for us."
Gonzalez said because it happened during spring drills, the players had time to let the tragedy sink in before having to focus on playing football.
"We had some time to evaluate things before we started playing," Gonzalez said. "I can't imagine having to play right away after that, when it just happened to one of your comrades."
Notes: Dan Hutchins was named the Big East Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 50 yards on five punts in Pitt's 42-14 victory over Syracuse. ... Kickoff for the Louisville-Pitt game Oct. 30 will be noon.
Wannstedt's take
On the importance of the win over Syracuse:
"I hate to say a must-win, but we needed to get a good start to this conference race. I would put it as we started off on the right foot. It's a very, very good start."
On Rutgers' defense:
"Statistically, they are the top defense in conference in almost all categories, along with West Virginia. They take a lot of pride on their defense and making big plays with the scheme they use. Last week, we saw a 4-3 physical defense, this week they're moving, they're twisting and they're firing guys, so it's more of a combination."
On Rutgers' tendency to blitz:
"Nobody will force the issue as much as Rutgers does."
On Dan Hutchins, a two-time Big East Special Teams Player of the Week:
"A lot of times, things happen on special teams ... (that) go unnoticed by the public. But, in the big picture of winning games, hidden yardage is important as anything we do on offense or defense."
On quarterback Tino Sunseri:
"He's making good decisions, but the most encouraging thing is that he's protecting the football. He's getting the ball out quick under a lot of pressure, and he's not forcing it."
On Sunseri's deep pass with Jon Baldwin:
"It needs work. We really haven't hit the deep balls like we did last year. It will come. We just need to keep doing it and working on it."
