DALLAS – SMU cornerback AJ Davis was taken off the field to the hospital by ambulance following a special teams play late in the first half of the No. 20 Mustangs’ game against No. 18 Pittsburgh, but not before he remained on the sideline with his teammates. end 48-25 wins Saturday night.

The ambulance from the University Park Fire Department drove nearly across the field to where medical personnel surrounded Davis and strapped him to a stretcher. When he was placed in the ambulance, his head was immobilized with an oversized neck support device.

“When that happened, they felt like he was okay. It was moving. It was consistent. He just had a little sore neck, and you know, when something like that happens, they’re going to be really careful,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “He came back on the field at the end of the game. From what I was briefly told, all the scans and everything were fine and he should be fine too. So this is a great blessing.”

The Mustangs had kicked off after taking a 28-3 lead. Davis was lying face down on the field, and video of the play showed his head making contact with the lunging player as he tried to tackle, and then another player fell on his back.

Several family members wearing Davis’ No. 14 jersey were on the field and were relieved by Lashlee, who gathered his players around the 35-yard line, less than 15 yards from where Davis was loaded into the ambulance.

“It was sad to see AJ go down, but I was happy to see him come back and be there for the team,” quarterback Kevin Jennings said.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi also met Lashlee in the middle of the court and spoke briefly.

“You don’t see this very often. This is the first time I’ve seen this in a long time,” Narduzzi said about the ambulance on the field. “I went to Rhett to tell him we were praying for him. … You never want to see anyone go down and you never want to see the lights come on on the field.”

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