UW’s Raiden Vines-Bright ‘doing good’ after scary hit forces him to leave in ambulance

1 of 3 | Trainers check on Raiden Vines-Bright at a game against the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday at Husky Stadium, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

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By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter

True freshman wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright was taken off the field on a stretcher and driven out of Husky Stadium in an ambulance early in the second quarter of the game Saturday between Washington and Purdue. 

Vines-Bright was responsive in the ambulance and moving his extremities, a UW spokesperson said. He was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests.

“Raiden is doing good from what I understand,” coach Jedd Fisch said after the game. “Everything has checked out at this point in time. He’s fully mobile, fully awake, fully aware. Very precautionary at the time and he’s doing good.”

A 6-foot-1, 200-pound wideout from Tempe, Ariz., Vines-Bright went down after absorbing a hit to the head from 195-pound Purdue safety Myles Slusher after catching a 10-yard screen pass with 10:25 remaining in the second quarter. Vines-Bright then hit his head again on the turf. Slusher was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play for taunting the UW sideline.

Vines-Bright received treatment for several minutes on the field before being placed on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. His arms and helmet were taped down on the stretcher, according to the radio broadcast.

The true freshman receiver had three catches for 11 yards receiving before being removed from the game. The Huskies (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten), already missing junior wide receiver Denzel Boston (ankle), gave some extended snaps to sophomore Audric Harris and junior Kevin Green Jr. in Vines-Bright’s absence.

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“It was a scary moment because it was right in front of us,” Fisch said. “Kind of saw the hit and then saw the reaction. But I was able to get over there pretty quickly and see that he was talking and looked at me. He was able to communicate. He was able to move pretty quickly. Everything became precautionary at that time. So at that point, you kind of start communicating with your team like, ‘He’s OK. He’s going to be OK.'”

Vines-Bright’s departure from the game was similar to the exit seventh-year tight end Quentin Moore made after suffering a concussion against No. 18 Michigan Oct. 18.

The Kenmore-born player stayed down after taking a hit while blocking as part of the UW punt shield and was eventually strapped to a spine board and carted off the field. Moore was diagnosed with a concussion and missed just one game before returning during Washington’s loss against Wisconsin Nov. 8.

Andy Yamashita: ayamashita@seattletimes .com. Andy Yamashita is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times, primarily covering Washington Huskies football.