ATLANTA — Carson Kimball always has his teammates' backs, and now they're showing they have his.
That was the message from Bremen High football players on Monday at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, where their quarterback, Kimball, is still recuperating after a hit in Friday night's game left him without feeling in his lower body.
The school says he has a "long road ahead" in terms of his recovery, and it's too soon to say what his near or longterm outlook will be. But for now, the teammates who traveled to Atlanta from Bremen to visit Kimball just want him to know how much they believe in him -- the same way, they said, he always believes in them.
"As a team we're just gonna be up here as much as we can, rallying behind him. He supports us through everything," Andrew Muldoon, one of the teammates, told 11Alive's Liza Lucas. "Anytime we're going through something, he's with us. He's always the first one out of the lockerroom, just leading us, so we wanna be there to support him through all of this."
Muldoon said Kimball is a "fighter" and "will never give up, no matter how hard it gets." He said he had seen Kimball in the hospital once already and that he was "actually way better than I expected him to be."
"We got in there, he was cracking jokes with us, telling us to keep the energy up at practice just like he would want it to be," Muldoon said.
Another teammate, Jack Bearden, emphasized Kimball's faith in the recovery process.
"One thing that stands out to me is he loves God," Bearden said. "Honestly I believe in prayer, so I believe that with God anything is possible."
Kimball's brother, Cole, also emphasized their family's faith and the need for prayers, while noting his brother's positive attitude.
"He's doing good. He has a great attitude," Cole Kimball shared. "Yesterday, he could only feel about to right here on his chest and now it's about three to four inches lower, so that's great. We're taking it day by day. His friends are all visiting and helping him out a lot."
At this point, his brother said doctors are determining whether more surgeries will be needed, adding the support from the community thus far has been overwhelming.
"It's just crazy to see how much support he's had," he added. "People just visiting him and seeing him, it just means so much."
After the news spread about Kimball's serious injury, the community in Bremen was already rallying around the family. 11Alive's Tresia Bowles reported on Sunday that one local business, Downtown Southern Outfitters, was selling shirts as a fundraiser to help Kimball, and already had 600 orders just in the first day.
"The first thing I thought was, 'What can we do?'" Downtown Southern Outfitters CEO Emily Wheeler said.
Teammates of Kimball's also noted how their small town comes together in tough moments.
"Bremen is a place where anytime tragedy hits, or something like this happens, everybody's there to rally around and support the cause," said Thomas Mann. "We have a really great city that helps rally around people."
As for Kimball's spirit, it's not the least bit deterred, his teammates said. Just Monday, he texted them while they were on their way to Atlanta to let them know what he wants to see from them.
"Told us to take care of business on Friday," Muldoon said. "And I know doing that will make him happy."