MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia endured more than one loss Saturday with its 38-20 setback at Texas in a game where the outcome was never in doubt during the second half.
According to head coach Neal Brown, four Mountaineers suffered concussions and there were “a couple significant injuries” during the team’s fifth game and third loss this season.
The most noticeable and perhaps most significant came when true freshman tailback CJ Donaldson was carted off the field during the third quarter after remaining on the playing surface for approximately 15 minutes. WVU players were visibly shaken and Brown described the situation as “scary” during his postgame press conference at Texas.
Brown confirmed Tuesday that Donaldson, who was cleared to fly back with the team, will not play in West Virginia’s upcoming matchup with Baylor on Thursday, October 13.
“He’s recovering. He’s in our concussion protocol,” Brown said. “Really want to credit our medical staff and also Texas’ medical staff and their operations at the stadium. They did an incredible job helping, so I want to recognize them.”
Brown did not wish to comment on injuries sustained by other players.
One of those was apparent when tight end Mike O’Laughlin was injured on the team’s second offensive series and never returned after sustaining a hit to his lower body on a play in which he was unable to haul in a pass from JT Daniels. O’Laughlin, a redshirt junior, suffered season-ending knee injuries in 2018 and 2021.
Though he did not say who, Brown noted two cornerbacks were injured against the Longhorns. That could leave the Mountaineers even more thin at a position where they’re already down preseason All-Big 12 selection Charles Woods. He suffered an injury in the first quarter of the season opener at Pitt that required surgery, though a return later this season hasn’t been ruled out.
As for the Mountaineers’ leading rusher, Donaldson’s status is in the hands of West Virginia’s medical team, which is guided by Head Athletic Trainer Vincent Blankenship.
The school’s concussion management plan lays out requirements for a return to activity, which include being symptom-free for at least 24 consecutive hours. That means the student-athlete shows a return to the baseline level of symptoms, cognitive function and balance before beginning exertional activity.
Then comes a five-step process that helps determine progression and includes:
Step 1: Light aerobic exercise with no resistance.
Step 2: Increased intensity of exertive activity.
Step 3: Sport specific activity/drills with no head contact. Progressive resistance training.
Step 4: Full competitive practice.
Step 5: Return to game/competition.
“Our medical people handle all of it,” Brown said. “If we think there’s something off with a kid, alert our medical team as soon as possible. That happened with two of the guys that suffered concussions in the game. They’re a little off and we’re like, ‘hey, you need to check them.’
“As far as the return to play, it’s pretty standard across football in general and Vince could probably talk a lot more informative than I can. But there is a strict return to play that we have to follow here and I’m not involved in it. All I do is ask the question. They don’t even start the return to play until they’re symptom free. That’s why you see some guys take quite a bit longer than others.”
With 11 days between the Texas and Baylor games, West Virginia’s longest break between contests this season may be occurring at a welcome time.
The Mountaineers practiced Tuesday for the first time since falling to 2-3 overall, and they’ll have another practice Wednesday, before being off Thursday.
Preparation for Baylor begins Friday. As a result of that game being on Thursday, players are unable to go home for the weekend, as is normally the case during an open week.
Outside of Donaldson, Brown said it’s “too early to make a determination” on the status of the other players injured at Texas and he will know more about O’Laughlin’s status moving forward after the tight end is checked out this week.
“As we get into Baylor prep later in the week, I’ll give you a better idea,” Brown said, “but we got beat up pretty good.”