Virginia RB Jones taken to hospital after hard hit

Virginia running back Perris Jones was immobilized, carted off the field and later hospitalized after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the third quarter against Louisville on Thursday night.

Jones took a swing pass and started running up field when he was hit. Jones fumbled on the play and fell forward in a pile of multiple Louisville players. Because the play happened near the Louisville sideline, Louisville trainers immediately ran out to offer assistance. Virginia receiver Malik Washington picked up the fumble and scored a touchdown, but the attention was already on Jones, as officials from both teams huddled around him.

Virginia players, some in tears, took a knee as they watched on in stunned silence. Jones is roommates with fellow running back Mike Hollins, who survived a shooting that killed three of their teammates last November. The one-year anniversary of the deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry is Monday.

Jones was eventually placed on a cart, completely immobilized. Hollins was among the players to get closest to the cart before it drove off. On the white tape Hollins wears on the back of his arms was Perry’s number 41.

Jones was taken to University of Louisville hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition. ESPN’s Harry Lyles Jr. reported on the game broadcast that Virginia athletic director Carla Williams greeted Jones near the stadium tunnel and gave him a pat on the arm before he was loaded into the ambulance.