SMU commit Leonard Parks passes away
Leonard Parks, a class of 2018 defensive lineman from Texarkana, Texas, who was committed to SMU, died on Saturday.
Texas High School head coach Gerry Stanford told the Dallas Morning News that Parks, a senior, died in his sleep while taking a nap. The cause of Parks’ death is unknown at this time.
Parks committed to SMU in July, choosing the Mustangs a week after receiving his offer from coach Chad Morris. Parks also had offers from Louisiana-Monroe, Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Arkansas Tech and Northeastern State according to Rivals.com and TexasHSFootball.com.
“The entire SMU football family is saddened by the passing of Leonard Parks. Leonard had come to our amp and we had been recruiting him for quite some time,” Morris said in a statement. “Many of our coaches had developed strong relationships with Leonard, and we considered him one of our own. Our thoughts and prayers are with Leonard’s family, his coach Gerry Stanford, his teammates and everyone who was close to him. Leonard and his family will forever be a part of our StangGang18 class.”
Our hearts go out to Leonard Parks' family, friends, Coach Stanford, Texas High and the whole Texarkana community.
— #PonyUpTempo (@SMU_Football) September 3, 2017
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
