Tyler Heintz, an incoming freshman at Kent State who planned to play on the offensive line for the Golden Flashes, died late Tuesday morning after taking part in preseason conditioning drills.
Here’s the school’s statement from Tuesday night:
“Today, the Kent State University family mourns the tragic loss of one of our student-athletes, freshman football player Tyler Heintz. Tyler was transported to a hospital by paramedics this morning following football conditioning drills at Dix Stadium. The cause of death is not yet known.
“Tyler was from Kenton, Ohio, and planned to study marketing and entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration. Tyler was recruited as a rising star on our offensive line. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with Tyler’s family and friends, as well as Coach Haynes and the team, our athletics staff and our student-athletes.”
The Portage County Coroner’s Office in Ohio told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that it was too soon to determine the cause of Heintz’s death and that it could take several weeks to learn the answer. The team had just completed its second day of preseason workouts when firefighters were called to Dix Stadium at 9:18 a.m. and found Heintz unresponsive, according to the Record-Courier.
At 6 feet 4 and 275 pounds, the Blade named him to its Division IV second team after his senior season, and he was seen as a two-star recruit by 247 Sports.
Heintz is the second Kent State football player in recent years to die following a preseason workout. In August 2014, Golden Flashes offensive lineman Jason Bitsko died after a teammate found him unresponsive in his bed. The coroner’s office determined that he died as a result of an enlarged heart.