The University of Nebraska community and Husker football fans are mourning the loss of punter Sam Foltz, who died Saturday night in a single-car crash. "All of the University of Nebraska is heartbroken. I don't know what else to say," Ronnie Green, chancellor of the university's Lincoln campus, tells the Omaha World-Herald. Foltz, a 22-year-old senior, was a passenger in a car being driven by Michael R. Sadler, a former Michigan State punter. Authorities say Sadler lost control on wet pavement; the car struck a tree and caught fire. Speed likely was a factor, according to reports. Foltz and Sadler, 24, died at the scene. A third occupant, 21-year-old Colby J. Delahoussaye, was taken to a hospital, ESPN reports. Delahoussaye, a Louisiana State kicker, had burns to his legs and required stitches.
The crash happened in Wisconsin, where the trio had been student instructors at a Kohl's Kicking Camp, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. "Sam was truly a tremendous young man, who represented everything that a Nebraska student, athlete, teammate, and friend should strive to be," Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst said in a statement. Foltz's former coach from Grand Island High School tells the Journal Star, "The best word I can use to describe Sam is uncommon." As a college junior, Foltz was Big Ten Punter of the Year, averaging more than 44.2 yards per punt, according to the World-Herald. Of Sadler, Michigan coach Mark Dantonio tweeted, "He gave us all so much in so little time." (More University of Nebraska stories.)