American football player Keontez Lewis sustained a scary injury on Saturday evening when he crashed into a brick wall. The wide receiver was playing for Oklahoma Sooners during their 44-0 thrashing of Kent City when he smashed into the brick wall surrounding the pitch after sprinting at full pace into one of the end zones while chasing an overthrown ball from quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.
Lewis received immediate medical attention following the collision and was examined for several minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. “He was alert,” Oklahoma’s head coach Brent Venables said after the game. “He was in some pain in his back. And I won’t get into all the details, but yeah, he was going full speed, and ran into the wall. You’re dang right, I was very concerned.
“I’m thankful once I got over there, realised based on the things and questions he was answering, was very coherent. [He said], ‘My head’s fine, my legs are fine.’
“Again, just probably being like being in a car wreck, I would guess. I haven’t seen the video of it. I was thankful it seemed and appeared that all things considered he was OK.
“The initial evaluation was good. Promising. The latest scans were good as well. But man, what a scary thing for him. Hopefully he’ll be OK long term here.”
Lewis began his university career at UCLA before transferring to Wisconsin, where he remained for two years prior to moving to Southern Illinois last season.
The fifth-year senior receiver has subsequently secured a starting position with the Sooners and has 17 receptions for 210 yards, plus two touchdowns, this season.
