LAS VEGAS — It appears that BYU cornerback Keenan Ellis is going to be OK.
Ellis, the junior from San Diego’s Bonita Vista High School, was involved in a collision five minutes into Saturday night’s 24-16 win over Arizona and lost consciousness before eventually being strapped to a gurney and taken to a local hospital for testing.
Sunday afternoon, BYU football spokesperson Brett Pyne said Ellis spent the night at University Medical Center in Las Vegas for observation and additional testing. Brain scans conducted Saturday night were normal.
“Keenan is out of bed, walking, and reports no neck or back pain,” Pyne said.
As of 3 p.m., it was not clear when Ellis would be released from the hospital.
After the game, BYU coach Kalani Sitake called the situation “scary” but said players and coaches were “relieved” when Ellis began moving his extremities.
“The scary part of this game is when someone goes down like that,” Sitake said.
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said in his postgame address that Sitake told him in their postgame handshake that Ellis was probably going to be OK.
BYU linebacker Keenan Pili said the scary incident unified the team.
“It just brought everyone together,” Pili said. “To see him like that kinda hurts. We just rallied together, got each other’s shoulders and said, ‘Let’s do it for him, let’s do it for our brother.’”
Ellis briefly lay motionless on the Allegiant Stadium turf after tackling Arizona receiver Michael Wiley on a third-down pass that fell incomplete.