Family of Brian Battie gives promising update after shooting
Auburn Tigers football player Brian Battie continues to recover in an intensive care unit in Florida after he was injured in a shooting that killed his brother in May. Now, his family had provided a promising update on his condition.
Battie began to show movement in his left side and then also on his right side in recent days, and has been taken off his ventilator and had a tracheotomy, his family said.
"Brian is still currently in the ICU but we're fortunate to share that on Saturday, Brian was able to give a 'thumbs up' to his mom with his left hand and showed movement in his left leg," Battie's godmother said in an update on GoFundMe.
"The right side of his body had not shown any sign of movement until two days ago, by the grace of God, Brian was able to move his right knee and leg. This news comes as a miracle, but Brian is a fighter and has always been."
She continued: "Brian has a long journey ahead of him and the Battie Family continued to need everyone's support and prayers as they are still grieving the loss of Pooh," referring to Tommie, Brian's brother, "while praying Brian's recovery keeps going in a positive direction."
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze briefly addressed Battie's condition when speaking at the SEC spring meetings, noting that the Tigers tailback and specialist was "getting better," but declined to go into specific details out of respect for Battie's privacy.
There had been fears that Battie was facing potentially life-long paralysis as a result of the shooting, according to court documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.
But his family's update gives a more promising outlook to his condition going forward.
Darryl Brookins, the suspect in the shooting, turned himself in to Sarasota Co. (Fla.) authorities and has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm as a felon.
Brookins' attorney has stated that his client was acting in self defense.
Battie featured as Auburn's principal kick return specialist a year ago while providing secondary snaps at the running back position.
He ranked fifth in the SEC with 23 yards per return on average and posted 49 yards per kick return on special teams.
Battie ran for 227 yards a year ago off 51 carries and scored a touchdown as Auburn's reserve tailback.
Before joining Auburn, Battie spent three seasons at USF, being named a consensus All-America selection in 2021 and he earned second-team All-AAC honors the following year when he ran for 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns.
Battie ran for 1,842 yards and 10 touchdowns at USF before transferring to Auburn.
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JAMES PARKS
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.