FORT WORTH, Texas — West Virginia safety Aubrey Burks left the WVU game against TCU on Saturday on a stretcher after suffering a potentially serious injury.
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.
WVU trainers got to Burks and quickly called for a backboard and a cart. It took about 10 trainers working together to get Burks onto the backboard, loaded into the cart. Burks’ teammates and coaches took a knee and could be seen hugging and consoling one another while he was being attended to.
WVU athletics has not made any statements about the nature of Burks’ injury or potential treatment. Burks was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation. There is a medical district in Fort Worth, not far from TCU’s campus.
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.
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The game was resumed after an approximately 10-minute delay, with West Virginia trailing, 14-7.
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