Rutgers Football Player From Galloway Injured In Street Fight

MARGATE, NJ — A freshman player on the Rutgers football team was critically injured when he was punched in the face and then fell backwards, violently hitting his head on the pavement, according to video of the incident and the Press of Atlantic City.

The player is Carnell Davis, who is originally from Galloway Township, according to their report.

This was first reported by the Press of Atlantic City, but also confirmed by Rutgers University.

"Our main concern is Carnell's health and well-being. He is home with his family and continues to make progress in his recovery," said the Rutgers athletics department in a statement released to Patch and other media. "We look forward to getting him back on campus soon."

It is unclear where or when the fight took place, but the Press of Atlantic City published their story Tuesday.

A man widely identified as Davis is seen arguing with another shirtless young man wearing a red baseball hat, in a video of the fight being widely circulated on social media. The man pushes Davis and then punches him in the face. Davis falls back and his head lands on the sidewalk with an audible "crack." Viewer discretion advised; the video is violent: https://twitter.com/10kHendo/s...

As of mid-day Wednesday, no criminal charges have been filed against the young man seen punching Davis.

The Atlantic County prosecutor's office referred all questions to Margate City police, who said they will be putting out a press release about the incident. That press release has not been released.

According to his Rutgers football bio on the team roster, Davis is a 6-foot-1-inch, 175-pound freshman wide receiver who was slated to begin his football career with the Scarlet Knights this fall.

He is a native of the Garden State who attended Absegami High School (Galloway) and St. Augustine (Richland, NJ) before he moved to Florida.

He played football for Eau Gallie High School in Florida as a senior in 2020.

Davis was named a first team All-Star on offense in 2019 by The Press of Atlantic City, first team West Jersey Football League by The Star-Ledger, a consensus three-star recruit and regarded as the No. 7 player in Florida by ESPN, according to his Rutgers bio.

He also competed in basketball and track & field in high school.

This story contains reporting by Carly Baldwin.

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