REVISITED

At least 16 other football players died nationwide this year, from middle-school level to the NFL ranks:

DEVAUGHN DARLING, 18

* The Florida State freshman linebacker collapsed and died Feb. 26 shortly after complaining about chest pains during an early-morning workout. His family has taken precursory steps to filing a lawsuit against the school, claiming Darling’s symptoms were overlooked and he was deprived of water and other fluids during drills. School officials deny those allegations. Autopsy results were inconclusive, but showed the presence of ephedrine, a controversial stimulant banned by the NCAA and found in over-the-counter cold medication such as the kind Darling had ingested.

DREW PRIVETTE, 16

* Returned home from an evening football practice session at North Jackson High School in Stevenson, Ala. Privette began complaining of a severe headache. Six hours later, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. An autopsy ruled the cause of the May 17 death as spinal meningitis.

NICK ALLEN, 14

* Also a player for North Jackson High, Allen died June 20 after collapsing at a practice session. An autopsy blamed a preexisting condition--arrhythmia--that resulted in an irregular heartbeat.

KOREY STRINGER, 27

* The Minnesota Viking Pro Bowl tackle collapsed from heatstroke during preseason training camp on July 31 in muggy Minnesota and died the following day. His family plans on filing a $100-million lawsuit, citing negligence by the team’s medical personnel. Controversial and potentially dangerous dietary supplements may play a role: Team officials say supplements were found in Stringer’s locker, family members contest that, saying autopsy results proves he never ingested them.

RASHIDI WHEELER, 22

* The Northwestern senior strong safety from La Verne Damien High collapsed during a preseason conditioning drill Aug. 3 and later died of exercise-induced bronchial asthma, according to a coroner’s report. Wheeler’s family filed a lawsuit accusing Northwestern of negligence. The university is challenging those claims, and also lays part of the blame on Wheeler: Dietary supplements containing ephedrine were found in the young man’s system.

STEVEN TAYLOR, 15

* The Luling (Texas) High sophomore died Aug. 17 of a heart attack after coming home from a light football practice. An autopsy found the teen had a congenital heart defect, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle.

LEONARD CARTER II, 14

* The Houston Lamar High sophomore died Aug. 18, two hours after collapsing during the sweltering heat of a preseason scrimmage. A medical examiner said the weather played a “minimal role” in his death, and determined the cause of death to be a hereditary defect--an enlarged heart.

ERASTE AUTIN, 18

* The University of Florida freshman fullback was taking part in a voluntary summer workout July 19 when it is believed he suffered heatstroke. He was taken to an area hospital with a body temperature of 108 degrees. He suffered cardiac arrest, lapsed into a coma and died six days later. His father has accused the hospital of negligence, although hospital officials defend their handling of Autin’s case.

CURT JONES, 34

* A former three-sport star at San Pedro High who lived in Utah was a defensive lineman and fullback for the little-known U.S. Inside Football League when he collapsed and died after an Aug. 7 game in Las Vegas. An autopsy found that Jones, a father of four, suffered from a preexisting heart condition that caused a heart attack. The autopsy also found that his heart condition was exacerbated by his use of dietary supplements containing ephedrine. Traces of ephedrine were found in his blood stream.

JAMARIOUS DEREZ BENNETT, 13

* The eighth grader at Jasper County Middle School in Shady Dale, Ga., died minutes after collapsing on the field at the start of an Aug. 15 practice session. An autopsy revealed he suffered from a rare heart defect.

BRANDON SCOTT HUTCHERSON, 17

* The Geneva County (Ala.) High junior was tackled while returning a kickoff during the Aug. 30 season opener and was unable to resume play. He died a few hours later. Autopsy results were unavailable.

MIGUEL RAMIREZ, 14

* The freshman at Aldine High in Texas collapsed Sept. 11 while running drills. An autopsy said the cause of death was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an abnormal thickening of the walls of the heart.

MATT COLBY, 17

* The Costa Mesa High outside linebacker died from bleeding and swelling in the brain, most likely after suffering repeated blows to the head during two earlier football games. The senior collapsed Sept. 28 in a game against Huntington Beach Ocean View and never regained consciousness.

JOHNNY SINGLETON JR., 16

* A junior lineman for Pickens County High in western Alabama stumbled out of the game before halftime Oct. 12 and collapsed. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he died. Autopsy results were unavailable.

MICHAEL LAMPI, 17

* The Round Lake (Ill.) High. quarterback died Oct. 13 after walking off the field in the first quarter of the game and suffering a seizure. An autopsy found that Lampi fell on a football, rupturing his spleen and leading to internal bleeding.

JONATHAN DIAZ, 17

* The Wilmington Banning High senior and starting offensive tackle collapsed at practice Nov. 12 after suffering a heart attack. No autopsy was performed. He had a history of high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat, according to his family.