Student Dies in Football Tryouts
DeKALB, Ill.--A student trying out for the Northern Illinois University football team died Friday after collapsing during conditioning drills.
Jawan Jackson, of the Chicago suburb of Robbins, was running sprints with the football team when he fell to one knee around 6:55 a.m. at the student recreation center.
He collapsed while athletic trainers were tending to him and they immediately tried to resuscitate him before calling paramedics.
Jackson, a 19-year-old freshman, was taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:40 a.m.
“He appeared to be a healthy young man who was in fairly good shape,” county coroner Dennis Miller said.
“We require that any athlete trying out for a sport sign a certificate that indicates they have had a physical exam and are able to participate in tryouts, and he had done so,” an NIU spokeswoman said of Jackson.
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