Memphis provides update on ILB Karmelo Overton after collapse

A scary situation arose in the second quarter of Friday night’s game between the Memphis Tigers and Rice Owls.

Immediately after Memphis took a 7-6 lead with 6:27 left in the second quarter, the Tigers kicked off to the Owls. Memphis inside linebacker Karmelo Overton was tackled on the field by two Rice special teams players. Overton got up under his own power and jogged to the sideline. In the middle of jogging, he suddenly collapsed without breaking his fall.

Trainers and medical staff rushed to the scene to treat Overton. The centre-back was then lifted up, placed on the injury cart and, after a lengthy delay, taken to a local hospital – he lay there on the pitch for around 10 minutes.

“The health and safety of our players is my greatest concern,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said through tears. “It’s like my family. When something like that happens, it hurts. There’s one of my boys lying on the floor. So you sit there and think, “I hope he’s okay.” Part of me feels like I might want to go to the hospital with him and jump in the back of an ambulance like we all do for someone that is close to our hearts.”

As Overton was being carried off the field, several members of the linebacker room approached him and wished him well on the way to the hospital. Those teammates included inside linebacker Chandler Martin and outside linebacker Bryce Edmondson. Martin confirmed that he had seen movement in Overton’s extremities, which was a positive update for the team.

“Karmelo is my type. It was hard to see one of my brothers go down like that,” Martin said. “I just told him to stay strong. He moved his hands and fingers – he’s fine. But it was hard to watch one of my boys go down like that. Me and Karmelo basically do everything together. This is my brother. So I basically told the guys, ‘Make sure you do it for him, keep the juice up, don’t let this get us down, and we have to finish for him.'”

Regrouping the team to play football after a devastating moment is no easy task. But when he witnessed Overton’s communications, the difficult situation became easier for Silverfield and his staff. Memphis eventually took the field after the wagon left, and Overton’s status weighed heavily on the entire team for the remainder of the 27-20 victory over Rice.

“I told our guys, ‘Let’s play football for one of our brothers,'” Silverfield said. “He could talk. He could communicate. There were positives there, so let’s play football and play for him. It weighs on the back of your mind. But you have to concentrate and play football for the rest of the evening. I know Karmelo would say, ‘Get your butt back out there, lift your chin up and go play some ball.'”

Silverfield gave the latest update at his post-match press conference, stating that tests were being carried out at the hospital.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with him,” Silverfield said. “We are running some tests. He is at a local hospital. But I ask Tiger fans to keep him in their thoughts and prayers and to keep their fingers crossed for a healthy recovery.”