NC State’s Martin was examined for possible spinal-cord injury; released from hospital
N.C. State redshirt freshman Khalid Martin was discharged from Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia on Sunday with “no radiographic abnormalities,” the school tweeted.
According to team spokesman Annabelle Myers, Martin was examined for a possible spinal-cord injury but all tests came back clear.
Martin was taken from the field by ambulance during the Wolfpack’s 45-24 loss at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Late in the third quarter, Martin spun to the ground after colliding helmets with teammate James Baker-Williams as they attempted to tackle running back Jalen Holston. After reaching for his head, Martin briefly got to his knees before falling back to the turf.
Positioned right on the bottom of the ‘T’ in the block ‘VT’ at midfield, Martin’s feet were still as he laid on his back, with medical staff gathered around him. Players from both teams kneeled while Martin was treated. After a lengthy delay, Martin was taken off the field by ambulance and to a Blacksburg hospital. Later, he was transported to Roanoke.
N.C. State said Martin, a safety out of East Forsyth, was conscious while laying on the turf. Two trainers immediately ran onto the field to assist Martin. One cradled his head. The other took out an electric drill, often used to remove face masks in the event of head and neck injuries. By that point, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren and several other people had encircled Martin.
Doeren said Martin was communicating with him the whole time he was on the ground.
“He was moving his fingers and toes, but he had a lot of pain,” Doeren said. “He said go finish the game. He was speaking, he was aware, but I’m not sure where things are at, but our prayers go out to him. Tough injury.”
Martin had two tackles in the loss. He had one tackle in the win over Wake Forest on Sept. 19.
“Mainly our concern’s for Khalid,” N.C. State running back Ricky Person said in the postgame zoom press conference. Person spoke to the team during the delay.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 11:46 PM with the headline "NC State’s Martin was examined for possible spinal-cord injury; released from hospital."
