The WVU football program has some great news to share with its fans. Both Aubrey Burks and Trey Lathan are back home in Morgantown and will rejoin their team on Wednesday.
This news comes a day after head coach Neal Brown said they would remain at the hospital in Fort Worth, Texas through Monday evening. He also thanked the West Virginia medical team and even the TCU staff for taking proper care of his players.
Burks, a junior safety, and Lathan, a redshirt freshman linebacker were carted off the field during WVU’s game against TCU this past Saturday night. Despite the trauma of watching their teammates and friends be taken to the hospital, the Mountaineers fought to a big win over the Horned Frogs.
Since that time, it’s been revealed Burks’ tests results were all negative. There is no timetable on when he can return to the field, but Brown did say Burks is walking under his own power while giving an update during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Burks appeared to be kneed in the head while he was covering a punt in the second quarter of the Mountaineers Big 12 game against the TCU Horned Frogs. The punt was muffed by TCU return man JoJo Earle, which set off a mad scramble that ended with Earle getting the ball and Burks laying on his back at the 10-yard line.
Lathan’s situation is a bit more cut and dry. He will miss the remainder of the season after having successful surgery.
After the game on Saturday night, Brown informed the media that Lathan was on the cart watching the remainder of the game on his phone, fist pumping when he saw both of the blocked kicks. Lathan was taken out of the game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a broken leg. Lathan was placed in an air cast.
A junior safety from Oakridge, Florida, Burks is in his second season as a full-time starter for the WVU defense. Burks was seventh on the WVU defense with 12 tackles entering play on Saturday and was tied for second with 2.5 tackles for loss. He also had one interception and two pass breakups. He added four more tackles before leaving the game against the Horned Frogs.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Lathan is listed as a redshirt freshman after receiving a redshirt for the 2022 season last year. Lathan hails from Goulds, Florida.
Ben Cutter took over for Lathan throughout the rest of the game.
Regardless how much either player can play moving forward, getting them back around the WVU football team will surely provide an energy boost for a group already riding high off a four-game win streak.
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