NMSU player recovering after spinal cord surgery
The next 48 hours will be critical for the local football player injured during practice, according to New Mexico State officials.
University officials, in a statement, said Miles Washington suffered a spinal cord injury during NMSU football practice Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The reshirt freshman is in intensive care after emergency surgery at University Medical Center in El Paso. Washington is a defensive back for the Aggies.
The freshman who moved to Las Cruces from Los Angeles, hasn’t played a game yet. He was on NMSU’s defensive scout team for the 2012 season.
It’s still unclear how exactly he was injured on Saturday.
“It’s just one of those fluke things. He didn’t do anything wrong. Nobody did anything wrong. It’s just one of those things you have to overcome and we all understand that football is a physical game but you know you can get hurt in car wrecks and all sorts of other ways too,” said NMSU Head Footbal Coach Doug Martin on Tuesday morning.
Martin spoke with ABC-7 during practice Tuesday morning.
“These guys know that he’d want them to come out and compete as hard as they possibly can. That was the message his dad gave to us.”
University officials said the next 48 hours are critical for Washington but did not reveal any more information on his injuries or condition.
According to his NMSU bio, as a senior at Culver City High School, Washington played cornerback, helping his team to a 10-4 record and a spot in the division IIII championship game. He was named second team all-Ocean League and played in the Prepster Classic All-Star game. Washington set a school record for blocked kicks with five as a senior.
“They don’t make any coaching manuals on how to handle things like this and obviously it’s tough. We’re optimistic for him. Praying for him and we know some good things are going to happen,” said Martin.
