Tennessee State LB Christion Abercrombie in critical condition after emergency surgery

Tennessee State linebacker Christion Abercrombie suffered a head injury on Saturday late in the second quarter of the Tigers’ matchup against Vanderbilt and was rushed to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he underwent emergency surgery.

Abercrombie, a redshirt sophomore, was believed to have sustained the injury at some point in the second quarter, though Tigers coach Rod Reed wasn’t positive when it happened.

“It was right before half,” Reed told the Tennessean. “He came to the sideline and just kind of collapsed there.”

Per the report, Abercrombie was administered oxygen on the sideline in the second quarter before being taken away on a stretcher to the hospital around halftime.

He is currently in critical condition at the Vanderbilt Medical Center.

The 20-year-old recorded five tackles in the game. Vanderbilt held on to beat the Tigers 31-27.

The two teams met at midfield after the game to pray for Abercrombie.

“We just all came up to say a prayer for that young man, his family and his football team,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said after the game. “At the end of the day, I’m a football coach coaching a team and coaching a game. But football is what we do, not who we are.

“I know what it is to be a coach. I know what it is to have a player whose injured. At the end of the day, when serious injuries happen, football becomes secondary.”

Abercrombie is in his first year with the Tigers after spending his first two seasons at Illinois.

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