🚨 VERY SCARY SCENE: Texas Longhorns Star Cam Coleman Placed On Spine Board After Frightening Hit [VIDEO]

For several terrifying minutes, the energy inside the stadium completely disappeared.

The crowd went silent.

Texas players stopped moving.

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Coaches stared anxiously toward the field.

Texas Longhorns football | AP News

And Longhorns star wide receiver Cam Coleman remained down on the turf following a frightening collision that immediately brought members of the Texas medical staff rushing toward him.

In this dramatic game-day scenario, Coleman had secured a pass and turned upfield looking for additional yardage when defenders quickly converged.

He tried to fight through the contact.

Then came the hit.

Coleman was sent crashing awkwardly toward the turf.

At first, it appeared to be another violent but routine football collision.

Then he didn’t immediately get back up.

Seconds passed.

Players began signaling toward the sideline.

Medical personnel sprinted onto the field.

And moments later came the sight nobody inside the stadium wanted to see.

A spine board was brought onto the field.

THE STADIUM SUDDENLY FALLS SILENT

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College football stadiums are built around noise.

Bands play.

Fans scream.

Coaches shout instructions.

Players celebrate after every explosive play.

But a frightening injury can erase all of that in seconds.

As medical personnel surrounded Coleman, Texas players slowly gathered several yards away.

Some dropped to one knee.

Others removed their helmets.

Several simply stood motionless, staring toward their teammate.

The opposing sideline also became noticeably quiet.

Nobody was thinking about the next snap.

Nobody cared about field position.

Nobody cared about the scoreboard.

No. 1 Texas vs. UTSA final score: Horns win, 30-6, in sloppy performance |  Burnt Orange Nation

For those frightening minutes, there were no opponents.

There was simply a group of football players hoping another player was okay.

MEDICAL STAFF TAKES EVERY PRECAUTION

The appearance of a spine board naturally makes any football injury look extremely serious.

However, immobilization procedures can be used as a precaution following certain collisions when medical professionals want to minimize unnecessary movement while evaluating a player’s head, neck or upper body.

Being placed on a spine board would not automatically mean Coleman suffered a spinal injury.

Only qualified medical professionals and further testing could determine the nature and severity of any injury.

Still, those distinctions would provide little comfort to teammates watching from only yards away.

Every second seemed longer than the previous one.

Every movement from the medical staff drew the attention of thousands of people.

Football had completely stopped.

ONE OF TEXAS’ MOST DANGEROUS WEAPONS

That would make the scene particularly emotional for the Longhorns.

Coleman has established himself as an important weapon in the Texas offense, and his latest performance demonstrated exactly why.

Against UTSA, Coleman caught four passes for 59 yards and scored twice, including a 24-yard touchdown reception that opened the scoring.

But none of those numbers would matter in a moment like this.

Nobody would be discussing receiving yards.

Nobody would be thinking about the next offensive series.

Nobody would care who replaced him.

The only thing that would matter would be Coleman’s health.

TEAMMATES GATHER AROUND

Eventually, after several tense minutes, medical personnel would carefully prepare Coleman to be moved from the field.

That was when the silence would finally begin to break.

Fans would rise from their seats.

Applause would spread throughout the stadium.

Texas players would move closer together as their teammate was carefully taken toward the sideline.

Opposing players would join the show of support.

Some would clap.

Others would stand quietly with their helmets removed.

For a brief moment, competition would completely disappear.

Everyone inside the stadium would want exactly the same thing:

Good news about Cam Coleman.

VIDEO WOULD QUICKLY SPREAD ONLINE

Texas Longhorns Scores, Stats and Highlights - ESPN

Footage of a frightening sequence involving one of Texas’ biggest offensive playmakers would inevitably spread rapidly across social media.

Different camera angles would emerge.

Fans would replay the collision.

Messages of support would begin pouring in.

And one question would dominate the conversation:

Is Cam Coleman okay?

But video alone could never provide a responsible medical diagnosis.

A frightening collision can look catastrophic while eventually producing encouraging medical news.

The presence of a spine board itself would also not establish the severity of an injury.

Only an official medical evaluation could provide those answers.

Until then, speculation would need to wait.

A MOMENT BIGGER THAN FOOTBALL

Football is built around extraordinary speed, strength and physical contact.

Most of the time, players absorb a collision, stand back up and prepare for another snap.

Occasionally, however, one play changes everything.

The score becomes meaningless.

Rankings become meaningless.

The next opponent becomes meaningless.

One player lying on the turf can silence an entire stadium and remind everyone that underneath those helmets are young athletes putting their bodies on the line every week.

For Texas players, coaches and Longhorn Nation, there would be only one thing worth thinking about in a frightening moment like this.

Forget the next play.

Forget the final score.

Forget football for a moment.

Just let Cam Coleman be okay.

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