A 21-year-old football player has died two days after he collapsed during practice.
CBS Sports reports that Bryce Stanfield, a defensive tackle for Furman University, died on Friday.
Furman announced Stanfield's passing in a statement that it released on Friday, Feb. 9. 2024.
Other statements have been released as well, including one from Clay Hendrix, Stanfield's coach.
Furman's statement was written by the school's president, Elizabeth Davis.
"It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you that Furman University student Bryce Stanfield passed away this afternoon surrounded by his family and his Furman family," Davis wrote on Friday.
She went on to detail what led up to Standfield's death.
Davis wrote, "Bryce, a junior health sciences major from Acworth, Georgia, was a defensive tackle on the Paladins Football team. According to medical personnel, Bryce collapsed unexpectedly at a morning workout on Wednesday. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was placed on life support."
The exact cause of the collapse has yet to be reported. In the remainder of her statement, Davis expressed her "heartfelt condolences to Bryce's family and friends," she thanked various university personnel - including Coach Hendrix - and she described the various measures that the university is taking to help the community process Standfield's passing.
Hendrix has released a touching statement of his own on Stanfield's passing.
"We are heartbroken beyond measure with Bryce's sudden passing and ask that everyone, first and foremost, lift up his parents, Fred and Teri Stanfield, and their family, in prayer on this day and in the days ahead," he wrote.
The coach went on to describe what Stanfield meant to the community.
Hendrix wrote:
There are so many more who are really hurting -- namely Bryce's teammates, coaches and staff, classmates, friends, and the entire Furman community and beyond. Bryce was an outstanding young man and an equally fine student, football player, and friend. He was so much a part of who we are as a program and school, and was pivotal in our success on the football field and through giving of his time in outreach to our community. In every sense he was the best representative we could have.
The coach concluded by saying that Stanfield's "passing is one of the most difficult things Furman football has ever encountered," adding, "our faith and so many wonderful memories Bryce provided us will help sustain us all in the days ahead."
