Monday wasn't the typical day off for Ball State University football players.
The mood wasn't as light as it usually would be after a big win. Nobody smiled. Players didn't make faces at their teammates, trying to make them stumble as they were interviewed.
The joyful, celebratory reaction expected from players on a 4-0 team was replaced with a silent tension as the they worried about injured teammate Dante Love.
"I've never had to deal with anything like this," senior tight end Darius Hill said. "I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
Coach Brady Hoke said Love was moved out of critical care Monday, but the senior will remain at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis as he continues to recover from a cervical spine fracture.
Love suffered the injury when Indiana University cornerback Chris Adkins tackled him during the second quarter of the Cardinals' 42-20 win Saturday. After a five-hour surgery Sunday, doctors told Love the injury would end his football career.
Hoke said he was at the hospital until 3 a.m. Sunday, and he visited Love from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. later that day. Offensive coordinator Stan Parrish also visited Love on Sunday afternoon. Love's family and girlfriend spent a significant amount of time visiting him as well.
Hill, who assumes the role of quarterback, Nate Davis' primary target, was on the field when Love was injured and saw his teammate get hit. Hill said he knew the injury was serious when he didn't see Love get up.
"I know how competitive and how tough Dante is," Hill said. "I know that if it wasn't serious he wouldn't have been laying on the field. I know that he just wouldn't handle that."
As Love was carted off the field on a stretcher, Hill told him the team would make sure to get a victory for him. Hoke said the team "circled the wagons" when Love was injured, and players and coaches have been leaning on each other to make it through.
It's that support system senior cornerback Trey Buice said is comforting the Cardinals players.
"I'm really trying not to think about it outside of football," Buice said. "I'm trying to get my mind off of it. But when I'm with the team, I kind of lean on my teammates. I lean on them knowing they're going to help me get through it as well as I'm here to help them."
Hill said knowing that Love has movement in all four extremities and is expected to live a normal life has helped him cope with his friend's injury.
"I'm making it just knowing that my friend is going to live a normal life and going to be a healthy individual," Hill said. "I know the type of guy Dante is. He's going to be successful no matter what he does because he's going to give 110 percent and wants to be the best."
Without the services of their No. 1 receiver, redshirt sophomore Myles Trempe will move into the starting lineup in Ball State's three-receiver offensive package. Trempe caught two passes for 80 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown reception, in the drive right after Love's injury.
While it's difficult to move on with the season, Trempe said, he knows the players won't do so without the memory of their injured teammate.
"We just need to think about the task at hand with Kent State [University]," Trempe said. "But he's going to continue to be with us. He is Ball State."
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