Vicksburg native MJ Martin suffered serious neck injury at football practice

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Vicksburg native Marvin Martin, Jr. has been hospitalized in Mobile after suffering a serious neck injury during football practice at the University of South Alabama.

Martin, a sophomore player for the Jaguars, collided with a teammate last week and was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to a hospital by ambulance.

As of Saturday, Martin was still hospitalized and there is no official word on his condition.

South Alabama football coach Kane Wommack commented to AL.com on Martin’s condition.

“I don’t know the answers to those things right now,” Wommack said of Martin’s football future. “I think some of it is, we’ll see what his healing process is. I don’t want to get too deep into the injury itself, but some of that is just going be as he progresses through that we’ll get some answers on, this is what is next in that step of process. It’s going to be a longer recovery for him and probably will not be quickly answered. There are a number of things that are probably going to have to happen, steps that are taken before we even get to the point of what his (football) future’s going to look like.”

“He’s a lot of support from his teammates and coaches and our administration,” Wommack said. “Even our school president, Jo Bonner, has gone over to see him. Marvin’s such a special, awesome guy. When injuries occur that leave you in in the hospital for a period of time, it’s always a scary scenario. You hate to see those things, but we love Marvin and the way he’s handling this situation right now. Our prayers and thoughts go out toward him and his family.”

Martin joined the Jaguars program earlier this year after spending his freshman season at Kansas State. He played high school football at Vicksburg High School and Trinity Christian.