Andrea AdelsonESPN Senior Writer November 9, 2023, 10:33 PM ET3 minutes read
Virginia RB Perris Jones was sent off after a big hit
Perris Jones is carted off the field after a Virginia touchdown in the third quarter against Louisville.
Virginia running back Perris Jones moved all of his extremities after suffering a helmet-to-helmet blow against Louisville on Thursday night.
Jones was taken to University of Louisville Hospital after the attack, and school officials said he regained movement in all of his extremities sometime after his arrival there.
Coach Tony Elliott said in an earlier postgame press conference that he had received “encouraging” news from the hospital about Jones’ condition. He added that Jones was undergoing an MRI at the hospital, but did not provide further details.
Jones had made a swing pass and was starting to run up the field when he was hit. Jones fumbled the play and fell forward in a pile of several Louisville players. With the game taking place near the Louisville sideline, Louisville coaches immediately rushed over to offer assistance. Virginia receiver Malik Washington picked up the fumble and scored a touchdown, but attention was already on Jones as officials from both teams crowded around him.
The Virginia players, some crying, knelt as they watched in stunned silence. Jones is roommates with fellow running back Mike Hollins, who survived a shooting that killed three of his teammates last November. Monday marks the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.
Jones was eventually placed on a cart, completely immobilized. Hollins was among the players who came closest to the cart before it drove off. The white tape Hollins wears on the back of his arms had Perry’s number 41 written on it.
According to the team, Jones will remain at UofL Hospital overnight for observation.
Earlier, ESPN’s Harry Lyles Jr. reported on the game broadcast that Virginia athletic director Carla Williams greeted Jones near the stadium tunnel and patted him on the arm before he was loaded into the ambulance.
“It’s a very, very difficult reality of the sport we play,” Elliott said. “Every game can end like this. You wouldn’t wish that on anyone and I know one thing: PJ is a tough young man. He puts everything on the line every time he plays for this football team. He believes and prays that he will go to make a full recovery. I place this in the Lord’s hands and ask for it in advance, and I believe that this will be the case.
The fumble recovery score on the play in which Jones was injured gave Virginia a 21-14 lead, but Louisville rallied in the fourth quarter to win 31-24 – the fifth game this season the Cavaliers have won by one touchdown or less.
“Nobody wants to see it and it’s hard to get motivated again, but I think the guys responded,” Elliott said. “In the end we just missed a few plays that we needed to make.”