Players from Tennessee State and Vanderbilt gathered at midfield as soon as the final horn sounded in Saturday’s game to pray for Tigers middle linebacker Christion Abercrombie.

Abercrombie, an Atlanta native, suffered a head injury late in the second quarter and was rushed to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where he had emergency surgery.

“The last I heard he was in surgery; we’ve been praying for him,” TSU coach Rod Reed said after the game. “I’m going to leave here and go there to see about him.”

Abercrombie was listed in critical condition after the surgery, according to a TSU release

Reed was unsure about exactly when Abercrombie was injured.

“It was right before the half,” Reed said. “He came to the sideline and just kind of collapsed there.”

Abercrombie was administered oxygen on the sideline before being taken away on a stretcher.

Abercombie is a sophomore transfer from Illinois. He came into the game as TSU’s second-leading tackler (13 tackles) and also had 1.5 sacks this season.

He recorded five tackles and a quarterback hurry before being injured Saturday.

Before taking questions in his post-game news conference, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason brought up Abercrombie’s injury.

“At the end of the day, I’m a football coach coaching a team and coaching a game, but football’s what we do, not who we are,” Mason said. “I know what it is to be a coach. I know what it is to have a player who’s injured. At the end of the day, when serious injuries happen, football becomes secondary.”