The University of Nebraska Athletics Department is deeply saddened to confirm that senior punter Sam Foltz was tragically killed in a vehicle accident on Saturday night, while attending a kicking camp near Waukesha, Wisconsin. Foltz, a 22-year-old senior, was a passenger in a auto being driven by Michael R. Sadler, a former Michigan State punter.
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Speed appears to have played a role in the single-car crash that occurred at 11:43 p.m. local time Saturday night, the sheriff’s department said.
Sadler was a four year starter from 2011 through 2014 and was a four time academic all-american, the first in Michigan State University history.
“Sam was universally loved and respected by everyone he touched and on whom he had a positive influence each and every day”, Nebraska coach Mike Riley said in a statement.
The Lansing State Journal reported that Sadler was entering Stanford Law School in the fall. He received his master’s degree in public policy in May 2015 with a 3.84 graduate GPA.
Foltz was a three-year starter for the Huskers.
Foltz was also the recipient of Nebraska’s Student-Athlete HERO Leadership Award in 2016. I’m just sitting here like, ‘I don’t really think this is happening.’ But it has.
The three players were attending a the Kohl’s Kicking Camp in Wisconsin for the weekend. He was a beloved teammate, and the impact of his loss was felt immediately on the Lincoln campus.
By the time a prayer vigil outside the stadium began on Sunday afternoon, a Nebraska helmet with Foltz’s No. 27 already rested at the foot of the Brook Berringer statue outside Memorial Stadium, which memorializes legendary coach Tom Osborne and Berringer, a former Huskers quarterback who died in a plane crash in 1996. Nebraska officials said that Riley and scheduled players will not attend. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sadler family, his teammates, friends, coaches and Spartan Nation”.
The Big Ten conference was rocked by tragedy Sunday, on the eve of its annual football media day. He was recently named to the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy which is presented annually to the college football player who gives back to the community and contributes athletically and academically. Sadler ranked fourth in the Big Ten in punting with his 42.5-yard average and led the NCAA FBS with 24 punts downed inside the 10 and ranked tied for second with 33 inside the 20.
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Sadler was a popular figure on social media, known for his humor. “I got the first $100 MSU PunterFam”.
