There was a sigh of relief from the Auburn family as junior safety Zac Etheridge was released from the hospital Monday.
Etheridge updated his Facebook status at 1:33 p.m. Monday saying: "Zac Etheridge is thanking God for another chance!! Just got released from the hospital!!! :) thank you Jesus!!"
His Facebook picture was of him in a hospital bed wearing a neck brace.
Etheridge was injured during Saturday's win over Ole Miss during the first quarter. He was attempting to hit Ole Miss' Rodney Scott and went head first into Auburn's Antonio Coleman's right shoulder.
Etheridge laid face-down, motionless on the field on top of Scott.
"Before (the trainers) got out there I realized that he wasn't moving or anything," Scott said Monday. "I sat still and then when the trainers got out there they told me to stay real still."
Scott said a lot was going through his mind, and he worried if he had moved, Etheridge would have been paralyzed.
Although he has full feeling in all of his extremities and movement, Etheridge will not be able to play for the rest of the season.
"Zac is out for the season, but he's out of the hospital and expected to make a full recovery, which is a great thing," said head coach Gene Chizik. "We're excited for him and he's in really good spirits right now, and some of the teammates have had a chance to see him and talk to him. He's a great young man, and he'll rebound well from this, and we're just glad he's made a lot of strides since Saturday."
Demond Washington will play safety against Furman Saturday.
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