Eric LeGrand may not have yet shown any signs of movement below his neck, but the Rutgers defensive tackle is in good spirits after Saturday's injury incurred in the fourth quarter against Army.
"Eric's spirits were as good as you could expect and he was cognizant of me being there and his mom and everybody. I saw him before and after surgery. He's a fighter," head coach Greg Schiano said, according to the Daily Targum.
"He's got a great family. They were all there last night. We spent the entire night together. There's going to be a lot of nights together on this path back."
Schiano, though, believes that there is a path back for LeGrand. Prior to becoming the head coach at Rutgers, he coached as an assistant to Joe Paterno at Penn State. With the Nittany Lions, a similar incident with player Adam Taliaferro occurred, and while Taliaferro never again played football, he was able to walk onto the field in Happy Valley, leading his team.
Schiano sees the same fate in LeGrand's future.
"As I talked to our team, we believe that Eric LeGrand is going to walk onto that field again with us," Schiano said. "That's what we believe."
