Kirby Smart reached out to his former running back, Nick Chubb, after the Bulldog great suffered a gruesome injury in the Cleveland Browns’ Monday night game.

Chubb went down after being hit by Steelers defensive back Mincah Fitzpatrick in the leg. His knee buckled, and after a teammate attempted to help him up, Chubb shook his head and remained on the ground. He had to be carted off the field following an emotional scene, and the diagnosis is that Chubb will undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Smart was asked about his reaction to the injury on Tuesday:

 

Chubb played for the Bulldogs from 2014-2017, racking up 4,769 rushing yards and 44 touchdowns on 6.6 yards per carry. He was one of the top freshman in the country in ’14 after he ran for 1,547 yards, and he helped lead the Bulldogs to a National Championship appearance in 2017-18.

This injury is compounded by the fact that Chubb suffered a similarly gruesome injury in 2015. Against Tennessee in Week Six, Chubb suffered a hit from UT linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin that forced him to be taken off on a cart. He tore his MCL, PCL and LCL, dislocated his knee and tore his hamstring in that instance.

However, Chubb was able to rehab and come back to run for over 200 yards against North Carolina in his 2016 debut, which was also Smart’s first game as head coach at UGA.