Tyler Ulrich, a 21-year-old safety for Division II's Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma, died from a traumatic brain injury and brain bleed sustained during an Oct. 10 away game against Ouachita Baptist University, according to a coroner's report obtained by ESPN.
The Garland County Coroner's Office report said Ulrich was "hit helmet to helmet causing the subdural hematoma." He was hospitalized after the injury and died five days later. The school had previously described his death as the result of a "traumatic injury" but declined to provide further details. A university spokesperson said Friday they had not yet received the coroner's report.
Head coach Dustin Hada said Ulrich was injured during a group tackle. Team radio announcer Dave Myrick said the hit appeared routine until players began waving for medical help. Ulrich is one of two college football players to die from a game-related head or neck injury in the past nine years, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. He was a redshirt sophomore and one of the team's top three tacklers.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing