Mississippi State Football Player Suddenly Dies at Age 18, University Says

An American football helmet sits next to a football before the start of a game on Nov. 4, 2012. Rob Carr/Getty Images

An 18-year-old Mississippi State University (MSU) student-athlete suddenly died on Wednesday just two days before his 19th birthday, the school said.

Samuel Westmoreland, a Tupelo native, was an offensive lineman for the MSU Bulldog football team and an industrial technology major who attended and graduated from Tupelo High School.