TULSA, Okla. -- Tulane safety Devon Walker remained in stable condition Sunday and will soon need surgery to repair the spine fracture he suffered while making a tackle during a game against Tulsa, officials said.

Roger Dunaway, assistant athletic director for Tulane University in New Orleans, said Sunday that Walker's parents had arrived at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa on Saturday night.

"We're just hoping and praying for the best for Devon and his family," Dunaway said.

Tulane said specialists treating Walker at a Tulsa hospital placed him in traction after Saturday's injury and are treating him for a lot of swelling to the neck.

"The current plan is for him to have surgery in the next one to two days," said a statement released late Saturday, hours after the New Orleans team opened the Conference USA portion of its schedule against Tulsa.

Tulane's team doctor, Greg Stewart, told The New Orleans Times-Picayune in a report published online Sunday that the player had some feeling in his arms and legs and that the possibility of paralysis was still unknown and it may not become clear until midweek.

Tulane safety Devon Walker suffered a broken neck in a head-to-head collision with a teammate Saturday. Doctors will need to operate and said the possibility of paralysis was still unknown. AP Photo/John Lew

Stewart told the newspaper that doctors would need more time to determine the extent of his injury.

Stewart also said a tracheotomy was not performed on Walker on the field and he had not suffered a collapsed lung as Tulsa ABC affiliate KTUL-TV reported, citing a Tulane trainer. ESPN.com also reported Walker had undergone a tracheotomy and sustained a collapsed lung.

CPR was done as a precautionary measure, Stewart said.

"He did not drop a lung," Stewart said, according to the The Times-Picayune. "Was there CPR done? Did we do chest compressions? Yes. But it was one of those things where once we got him hooked up to the monitor, his blood pressure was low so it was hard to feel the blood pressure and we didn't have anything -- he wasn't hooked up to an EKG, wasn't hooked up to an AED.

"When we first got out there and were dealing with him, we didn't have any equipment so it's all about what you can feel through sweat and gloves and all that kind of stuff. So, yes we did (do CPR) because we figured we would rather err on the side on doing compressions when we didn't need to as opposed to not doing them and wishing we had."

The injury occurred on the final play of the first half. Tulsa was leading 35-3 and facing a fourth-and-2 with the ball at the 33-yard line on Saturday when the Golden Hurricane called timeout. Tulane then called timeout.

When play resumed, Tulsa quarterback Cody Green tossed a short pass to Willie Carter, who caught it at about the 28, and turned upfield. He was tackled around the 17-yard line, with defensive tackle Julius Warmsley and Walker sandwiching him and apparently smashing their helmets into each other.

Medical personnel from both teams attended to Walker as he lay on the field. Fox Sports reported a hush went over the crowd at H.A. Chapman Stadium as Walker was attended to, and that several coaches were in tears as he was taken away in an ambulance. Spectators bowed their heads as someone on the field led the stadium in prayer.

Dr. Buddy Savoie, another Tulane doctor, said Walker never completely lost consciousness and was breathing on his own.

"He was stable when we transported him," Savoie said. "I do not think, based on the information we have, his life was ever in danger."

The game resumed at 1:20 p.m. Saturday.

Later Saturday, Tulane Athletics said in a statement that specialists have been treating Walker for the swelling to the neck, adding he remained stable and was in traction. It praised doctors attending to Walker at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa for a "great job" with his care.

Walker is a senior majoring in cell and molecular biology. His brother, Raynard, told The Associated Press that their mother was watching the game on television when her son was injured.

Tulane coach Curtis Johnson said after the 45-10 loss that while Walker was on the field, Johnson told Walker that he was praying for him and that help was on the way.

He said the mood among players was somber, and called the day his most difficult ever.

"It was tremendous that they finished the game, as I thought about just saying `Hey look, let's not do anything else. Let's just get on the road and go.' "

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.