RIP Tyrone Duplessis: Louisiana Tech running back found dead at age 21
Louisiana Tech has confirmed that running back Tyrone Duplessis was found dead this morning at his off-campus apartment in Ruston. Cause of death has not been determined. He was 21 years old.
Duplessis, a redshirt sophomore from New Orleans, carried the ball seven times last year after sitting out the entire 2010 season with a knee injury. As a true freshman in 2009, he saw the field regularly, gaining 355 yards in nine games as a rusher and return man before forced to sit out the last month of the season. Teammates have been informed of his death by Bulldog coach Sonny Dykes and grief counselors made available through the university. An autopsy is pending.
Duplessis' death is the first in college football in 2012, after an unusually lethal year that claimed the lives of six Division I players in 2011, two of them victims of apparent heart conditions. Sincere condolences to his family and teammates in the face of a senseless tragedy.
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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
