Grambling was on the wrong side of a 72-10 beating at the hands of SEC power LSU earlier this month.
However, that loss would become a distant second to the events that occurred to a member of the team that night in Baton Rouge.
Halfway through the third quarter, linebacker JaQuavis Richmond suffered what was described as a head and neck injury trying to make a tackle. He was carted off the field and taken to Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center for immediate surgery.
Since the injury, there has been an outpouring of support and well-wishes for Richmond, with the latest coming from members from Southern University.
A contingent from the Jaguars’ athletic department, which included head football coach Eric Dooley, showed up in person Tuesday to visit Richmond.
“The decision was a collective idea. Athletics director Roman Banks has talked about representatives from Southern athletics to go visit the young man and try and cheer his spirits up on his road to recovery as a show of unity, as even though we are competitors, the HBCU spirit is just as big,” said Southern Deputy Athletic Director Rodney Kirschner in an email to HBCU Sports.
“The collective idea to finalize the visit was with AD Banks, Myron Lawson, Board of Supervisors vice chairman Dr. Rani Whitfield,” Kirschner said. “Board of Supervisors Athletic Chairman Attorney Domaine Rutledge found out (Monday) last night that today was his birthday to make sure we had SU Athletics representatives stop by today and try and encourage and show unity to JaQuavis that we are rooting for him and supporting him in any way we can.
“The visit went well and was a surprise. He had a big smile during the whole visit and thought it was a special moment and well deserved for him.”
