It was September 17, and former Cleveland Browns QB Connor Shaw was engrossed in coaching his son’s 8U flag football game at Gracely Park. But 15 minutes after the game started, he collapsed, face down on the grass. As people scrambled around to call 911 and get help, one of the coaches on the field, who was a firefighter, bolted over and started giving CPR. Some folks ran to the nearby Simpsonville Fire Department, while others took turns performing CPR on and off.

The whole ordeal lasted about 20-30 minutes until the fire department arrived. As the football field rests at the foot of a hill, an ambulance wasn’t able to directly get to the spot. Shaw was then admitted to the Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital.

On Thursday, the day after the incident, he was said to be in stable condition. But South Carolina Football HC Shane Beamer has a new update. During his weekly Carolina Calls radio show, he mentioned that Shaw was “alert” and “communicating“. As of today, the official reason behind the sudden health crisis is yet to be revealed. 

He found out about it through South Carolina’s head athletic trainer, Clint Haggard. Shaw was previously a USC QB from 2010 to 2013. During his tenure there, he played 43 games and recorded 6,074 passing yards and 56 touchdowns. He even holds the prestigious record for most wins by a Gamecocks QB. No wonder he was inducted into the South Carolina athletics hall of fame in 2021.

Though he went undrafted, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played just one game. Going into the contest, his experience was limited to being on their practice squad for 16 weeks. QB Brian Hoyer was skipping practice due to a deep bruise to his right shoulder and biceps, and Johnny Manziel was suffering from a hamstring injury. And though the Browns liked how tough Shaw was, the leadership didn’t have huge expectations.

“You’re starting an undrafted rookie quarterback. I don’t think we’re going to look to go down there and win one 41-38,” then-HC Mike Pettine said. But Shaw was focused on just playing and doing his best. The game was against the Baltimore Ravens, and it ended in a 10-20 loss. Shaw had recorded 14-of-28 passing for 177 yards and an interception.

Additionally, in 2015, he spent time on the sidelines due to a thumb injury. 2016 wasn’t kind either. He was claimed by the Chicago Bears off waivers that summer but didn’t get to play in a regular-season game. A broken leg in the preseason and a hamstring injury during the 2017 preseason sidelined him once again.

Regardless, he shifted his attention towards other avenues. He bagged a job as a tight ends coach in 2018 at Furman University, but made a quick exit before the season started. And in 2020, former USC coach Will Muschamp hired Shaw as the director of player development. In the same season, he was promoted to QB coach and was retained as so when Muschamp was fired and replaced by Shane Beamer. This was before he eventually resigned in February 2022.

Now, with his recent health scare, the coming days will determine the pace of his recovery. Thursday’s signs already showed progress compared to the chaos leading up to the moment.