During the third quarter of <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/nc-state-wolfpack/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NC State</a> football’s 24-14 win over UConn, a hit on a kickoff that led to a penalty injured Wolfpack defensive back <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/rakeim-ashford-98072/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rakeim Ashford</a>. He was then transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. 



Per an NC State spokesperson, the graduate student had movement and feeling in his extremities on the sideline following the injury. Paramedics took him off the field on a stretcher, and Ashford gave the crowd a thumbs up. 



Following the game, a spokesperson also shared that tests revealed no fractures. Head coach <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/coach/dave-doeren-131956/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dave Doeren</a> provided an update as well. 



“So far, everything I’ve been told is positive,” Doeren said. “They’re going to keep him overnight to make sure, but every test that they’ve done so far has been okay. There’s a lot of tests that I’m sure they’re going to do, but so far so good.”



Doeren could not comment on any specifics of the injury. 



This is Ashford’s fourth season with the Wolfpack after transferring in from Ellisville (Miss) Jones junior college prior to the 2020 season. During his lone junior college season, he intercepted 4 passes as a true freshman and earned an offer from NC State. 



Ashford has been a fixture on Pack special teams for each of the past two seasons, and he also secured an interception during the program’s 2022 Mayo Bowl contest vs. Maryland. Over the prior three seasons, he recorded 29 tackles. The safety started the second game of the 2020 campaign but missed the rest of the year due to injury. 



Linebacker <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/payton-wilson-95978/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Payton Wilson</a> shared how much he appreciates Ashford as a teammate after the game. 



“Rakeim is someone that everybody loves on this team,” Wilson said. “He walks around every single day with a smile on his face, never has anything bad to say or anything bad to say about anyone. It’s just awful to see anyone go down, more so Rakeim just because how great of a person is.”



The linebacker said the team made sure Ashford knew that they were going to play the rest of the game for them. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong echoed a similar sentiment. 



“Once we kind of knew that [Ashford] was going to be fine and stable and he was going to be alright, us having the ball where we had it, we were like ‘We’ve got to go punch this son of a gun in.”



That drive ended in a touchdown for the Wolfpack. Any updates on Ashford’s health will be shared as soon as they are available.

nc-state-defensive-back-rakeim-ashford-carted-off-field-after-scary-collision

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