MACON, Ga. — It was a scary situation at Five Star Stadium on Saturday.
With less than a minute in the third quarter, a Mercer football player collapsed on the field.
Freshman cornerback Khalil Moody had just finished a play when he suddenly fell over. There was a 15-minute delay as training staff and eventually first responders rushed over to him.
His health scare came a few hours after a Wesleyan College cross country runner collapsed at Mercer's home cross country meet at Middle Georgia State. Nefertari Holston, a 23-year-old cross country athlete from Dothan, Alabama, was rushed to Atrium Health Navicent and was pronounced dead at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
With Holston's death at the front of many fans' minds, they waited with bated breath as Moody was rushed to the same hospital.
A full day later, Mercer football delivered good news. In a statement on its personal social media and on its website, the team announced that Moody is in stable condition and is currently being monitored by hospital staff.
The statement said Moody was thankful for the thoughts and prayers, and added he was thankful for his teammates, coaches and the medical staff who helped him.
After the 38-21 win over The Citadel, head coach Mike Jacobs said Moody was doing better.
"It puts everything in perspective that this is just a game" Jacobs said. "I look at every player that wears orange and white as an extension of my family."
Linebacker Isaac Dowling reiterated his coaches’ feelings, and was "thankful" his teammate was doing better.
"If we were going to finish this game, we were going to do it for him," he said.
Moody, a Sumter, South Carolina native, has played in all, but one of the Bears' games this season. He's recorded a tackle and a pass breakup so far this year.
It's currently unclear when Moody will retake the field, although it'll likely be after some time to rest.