Devwah Whaley said it was a “big relief” that fellow Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams only suffered a stinger after a hit that led to him being taken from the field on a stretcher during the Razorbacks’ final spring scrimmage on Saturday.

Williams, a junior, is slated to be Arkansas’s starting running back for the 2017 season this autumn, with Bermudian Whaley, a sophomore, set for No 2 on the depth chart.

Williams was hit by defensive lineman McTelvin Agim on the play that led to concern from his team-mates. The junior suffered a season-ending neck injury midway through his freshman season in 2015, but recovered to run for 1,360 yards and 12 touchdowns in the Razorbacks’ 7-6 campaign last year.

Practice was halted while Williams was being tended to, before he went to hospital for precautionary measures.

“It hit us pretty hard,” Whaley told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. “Freak accidents happen. All we could do was continue to practise and get better. I’ve heard that he’s doing fine and he’ll be OK. It was a big relief. I’m going to give him a call and a text later and maybe go see him just to see how he’s doing.”

Williams was in good spirits quite quickly after the hit, though.

“He kept saying, ‘this is embarrassing’, because he wanted to walk and they wouldn’t let him walk because they were being overly cautious,” Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema said. “He was kind of joking around.”