Gary Tinsley, a recent University of Minnesota football player who dreamed of turning pro after graduation this spring, was found dead in his Minneapolis dormitory room Friday morning, the Pioneer Press reports.
Authorities are treating the death of Gophers linebacker Gary Tinsley as "suspicious," University of Minnesota Police Chief Greg Hestness said at a press conference this afternoon, City Pages reports.
Hestness says there was nothing about the scene to suggest a crime had been committed, but "the death of a young athlete is out of the ordinary."
According to the Pioneer Press, Tinsley's roommate found him about 7:40 a.m. on the floor of their room in Roy Wilkins Hall, not breathing, and called for help. Police officers and medics responded but could not revive Tinsley, who was pronounced dead at the scene about 8:15 a.m.
"It's a very, very sad day for our football program and for our young men," Gophers coach Jerry Kill said at a Friday afternoon news conference. "We lost one of ours today in Gary Tinsley, who I know is in a good place."
Tinsley was a senior at the University of Minnesota, originally from Jacksonville, Florida. He played linebacker for the Gophers since 2008, and has started every game for the past two seasons. Tinsley was just weeks away from graduating, City Pages reports.
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