Avery Sebastian suffered a serious injury on Monday night in what looked to be a helmet-to-helmet collision. Sebastian was admitted to the hospital but was released this morning with movement in all extremities.
On one of the final plays of the first fall scrimmage, Sebastian and Jeffrey Coprich collided in a helmet-to-helmet hit that sent an audible boom echoing through the stadium.
Coprich jumped to his feet. Sebastian did not.
The entire team took a knee as medical staff members began to care for Sebastian. With so many huddled around him, it was hard to make out what was happening, but he did not appear to be moving. More than 300 fans were held in silence. Memorial Stadium was as quiet as if it had been empty.
Some players had their arms around each other as the entire team was rattled by the severity of the hit. After a few minutes, the players huddled up in the corner of the north end zone as a coach said some words to them that were inaudible from the stands.
When the huddle broke, most players left to the lockers, with Sebastian still on the ground. The best thing for the players to do at that point was to get out of the way so that the medical team could do its job.
After 10 minutes, the silence in Memorial was broken when a siren could be heard in the distance. An ambulance arrived shortly afterward and drove onto the field.
Sebastian was loaded onto a stretcher and admitted to the hospital. Many players followed the ambulance in their own cars to see Sebastian.
About an hour later, it was reported that Sebastian had movement in all extremities, and he was released from the hospital Tuesday morning.
After the practice, coach Sonny Dykes would not comment on the injury, preferring not to speculate until he knew more.
Sebastian, meanwhile, gave a statement to Cal Athletics.
“I want to thank everyone for their positive thoughts and prayers,” he said.
Sebastian is expected to make a full recovery.