Missouri player dies after collapsing

From wire and staff reports

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A University of Missouri football player died Tuesday after collapsing during a voluntary, noncontact workout with teammates.

University Hospital spokeswoman Mary Jenkins confirmed the death of Aaron O'Neal, 19, a redshirt freshman linebacker from the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur.

The cause of death was not immediately available.

"I can't begin to express how deeply saddened we are by this loss," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, who was out of town Tuesday, said in a statement. "Aaron was a quality young man who was well-liked and respected by his teammates and coaches.

"We are all very shocked and hurt right now, but the most important thing we can do is to focus on Aaron's family and to assist them any way we can," Pinkel said.

O'Neal collapsed during a light workout on Faurot Field with about a dozen teammates Tuesday afternoon, witnesses told The Associated Press. Players wore shorts, T-shirts and cleats but no helmets or pads.

The Columbia Tribune reported on its Web site Tuesday that O'Neal collapsed near the end of the hourlong workout and was helped off the field by junior walk-on Darren Meade.

Television station KMIZ reported on its Web site that O'Neal went into cardiac arrest twice just after 3 p.m. Tuesday while paramedics worked on him, according to its sources.

The Tribune reported that the workout was under the direction of Pat Ivey, Missouri's director of strength and conditioning. In accordance with NCAA rules, no member of Missouri's football coach staff was in attendance, the Tribune reported.

O'Neal, who was 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds according to the Missouri football program's official Web site, entered the spring practices at No. 3 on the depth chart at middle linebacker.

He graduated from Parkway North High School, where he played basketball, track and baseball in addition to football.

O'Neal, whose older brother, Nick, attends Missouri, chose the Tigers over Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas State.

"That's all the kid wanted to do, was play for Missouri," said Bob Bunton, O'Neal's high school football coach. "He was so happy and doing so well. I just feel bad for his family."

O'Neal showed no evidence of any serious medical problems in high school, Bunton said.

"Aaron had always been a picture of health," he said. "It was something he really took pride in."

As a high school senior, O'Neal earned all-state honors in Class 5 after rushing for 1,562 yards and 19 touchdowns. As a junior, he had rushed for 1,207 yards and 14 touchdowns and was the Vikings' offensive most valuable player. In four games as a sophomore, O'Neal rushed for 800 yards and nine touchdowns, including a 254-yard outing against Webster Groves that set the school's single-game rushing record.

Word of O'Neal's death didn't immediately reach all his teammates, who were summoned to an emergency meeting Tuesday night. They walked in single file, somberly greeting each other as they entered.

"It's hard right now to find the words that communicate the heartache that everyone in the Missouri family is feeling," Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Aaron's family and his teammates, who are all dealing with something that is really hard to understand."