Dan Lanning thanks medical staff for quick response on Jaivian Thomas injury

Cal freshman running back Jaivian Thomas was carted off the field during Saturday’s 63-19 loss to Oregon.

He was taken to a local hospital for further testing after taking a hit during the third quarter. He remained motionless on the ground while being tended to by the medical staff on-hand. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning addressed the scary situation in his postgame press conference.

“Certainly don’t want this to go missing but thoughts and prayers for Javian Thomas,” Lanning said postgame. “He got hurt there. I’m proud that our medical staff and their medical staff were able to give him quick care. And we’re praying for great news for him never want to see anybody get injured in this game but we can open it up.”

After the game, Cal coach Justin Wilcox said that Thomas is alert but was yet to be informed of the extent of his injury.

“He’s alert, interacting with the doctors,” Wilcox said, via ESPN. “He does have movement, feeling in his extremities, which is good news, but there’s still a lot of tests that he’s going to undergo, so we’re all praying for him.”

On the season, Thomas came into the matchup with 15 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. He also had 19 rushing yards before his injury. Before college, Thomas was a three-star recruit, per the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 58 running back in the 2023 class out of
Oakland.

Lanning said this is a tough reminder for everyone about the possible consequences of playing football. Anything can happen when these players put their bodies on the line each play.

“They understand the dangers of playing football at a high level. Every one of us in our program feels for him and for his family and his teammates and I know they’re hurting,” Lanning continued. “But we also know there’s a job to accomplish for us on the field. And I thought our guys did a good job of hitting the reset button, you know, paying respect to him, but going out there ready to execute when they got the opportunity.”

As Thomas’ health remains in Lanning’s and Oregon’s prayers, the Ducks move on for a massive Pac-12 matchup against at home against USC. While the Trojans have hit a low-point in their season, they’re still dangerous with Caleb Williams in the backfield.