Play stopped in a high-profile college football game between Notre Dame and Texas A&M after TAMU defender Bryce Anderson was knocked unconscious during a play late in the second quarter.
The game was stopped for roughly five minutes as medical staff rushed onto the field and attended to the injured defensive player.
After being strapped onto a backboard and loaded onto a cart, fans at Notre Dame Stadium applauded Anderson as he was being taken away. Anderson raised a thumbs up to the crowd before going down the tunnel.
Anderson and the No. 16-ranked Texas A&M Aggies are visiting the No. 8-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a highly-anticipated matchup.
With less than a minute until halftime, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr tossed a pass for tight end Eli Raridon.
Both Anderson and teammate Will Lee III went to tackle Raridon and collided with him at the same time.
Texas A&M defensive back Bryce Anderson was knocked out cold late in the first half
Anderson (R) and teammate Will Lee III (L) both hit a Notre Dame tight end at the same time
Anderson took the brunt of the force from the collision, with Lee hitting Raridon first and into his teammate.
After the hit, Anderson was seen lying motionless face-down on the field. A teammate tried shaking him awake and he did not respond.
Out came medical personnel as players on both sidelines knelt on the field in reverence.
At one point, the Aggies gathered around the 30-yard-line and circled up. They were seen bowing their heads in what appeared to be prayer.
After some time, Anderson’s helmet and pads were taken off, he was loaded up, and was taken off the field.
His Texas A&M teammates gathered for a prayer circle before Anderson was carted off
Coming out of the half, NBC Sports sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen spoke to Texas A&M coach Mike Elko for an update.
‘He was spineboarded. He was then taken in an ambulance to Beacon Memorial Hospital for precautionary reasons, that is a Level One Trauma Center two miles away from here,’ Tappen said on the broadcast.
She added, ‘He has feeling in all of his limbs. Coach spoke to him on the way out, he also said he told his team “this is our brother”, the guys want to play strong for him in the second half.’
Anderson is a 5-foot-10 senior from Texas. He has 113 total tackles, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions across his college football career.
