Five of the Worst College Football Injuries of All-Time

Five of the Worst College Football Injuries of All-Time

Throughout the years we have learned that college football is a rough sport. Strong, athletic kids are colliding at high speeds, trying to hit each other with as much force as possible, hoping to deliver the one hit that will jar the ball free and allow their teams to recover the fumble.

In the midst of all of the hard hitting action, every now-and-then one of these kids takes a hit that is just too much for the human body to handle. These guys are constantly getting sent to the ground, but there’s always that one hit that hurts just a little bit more than all the rest. That’s the hit that the players can’t get up from.

The NCAA has done a lot recently to improve player safety on the field. Especially with talks of brain damage and concussion studies being surfaced for the NFL, the NCAA is trying, some could say too hard, to try and keep players safe.

Unfortunately, any time a sport involves contact there are going to be injuries. It is just one part of the game. The NCAA should do as much as it can to prevent these injuries, but no matter how much it does, as long as there is contact, there will be injuries.

This list is not for the faint of heart, or the squeamish. It contains video footage of some rough looking injuries. If you are the type of person who will be bothered by a leg or arm bending in a direction it isn’t supposed to, you may want to simply read the description of the video, rather than watch the clip.

Without further ado, here are five of the worst college football injuries of all time.

Patrick Edwards’ Broken Leg

This is one of the most gruesome injuries I’ve ever seen. This is right up there with Joe Theismann’s broken leg.

Patrick Edwards, receiver for the Houston Cougars, is unaware of where he is on the field. He looks over his shoulder as he is running and slams full speed into a medical cart sitting just steps off of the playing surface. Who put a cart there? That’s ridiculously unsafe and here it served as the reason for Edwards’ shattered leg.

Edwards later said he did not consider Marshall responsible for the incident and that he had not animosity towards the school.

Marcus Lattimore’s Gruesome Dislocated Knee

This is an injury that is pretty recent and ended up looking much worse than it actually was. Don’t get me wrong, dislocating a knee and tearing several ligaments is bad, but I thought his leg was broken.

South Carolina Running Back Marcus Lattimore is hit awkwardly and his leg bends in a way that no leg was meant to bend.

Thankfully it appears as though Lattimore is making a full recovery and is heading the the NFL Draft this coming spring.

Willis McGahee’s Torn Knee Ligaments

This classic injury has become the original knee injury. Whenever modern-day athletes suffer horrendous knee injuries, the first name to pop up is Willis McGahee.

Miami’s Willis McGahee takes a direct shot to his knee while his leg is planted, which causes his knee to bend completely backwards. He tore his ACL, PCL and ACL in his knee on this single play.

McGahee recovered fully and went on to lead a very successful NFL career.

Devon Walker’s Broken Neck

This injury doesn’t look as bad as the others, but could be the most severe injury on this list. Tulane’s Devon Walker collides head on with his teammate and suffered a cervical spine fracture.

Walker was taken to the hospital and put into stable condition and was released from rehab before Christmas of that year so he could spend the Holiday with his family.

Jahvid Best's Concussion

This injury looks really bad, but in the grand scheme of things ended up being less serious than it looked. UCLA’s Jahvid Best jumps into the endzone, but is hit unbelievably high into the air before landing on his neck.

Best left the game, and remarkably sustained only a concussion after the impact. He went on to play running back in the NFL.