Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size
From Orlando Sentinel

UCF football player Ereck Plancher dies after conditioning drills

Kyle Hightower | Sentinel Staff Writer
5:35 PM EDT, March 18, 2008

UCF football player Ereck Plancher died today, collapsing after a workout in preparation for the opening of the Knights' spring practice.

Plancher, 19, a redshirt freshman receiver from Naples, died shortly after being taken by ambulance to Florida Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:51 a.m. The cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.

"I know I speak for the entire UCF family when I say our thoughts are with Ereck's family on such a tragic day," University Central Florida Athletic Director Keith Tribble said of Plancher.

Players were leaving the Knights' indoor practice facility, Nicholson Fieldhouse, when Plancher collapsed and dropped to one knee, Tribble said. He said the incident did not occur during the workout but after the players had finished a "10-minute" drill.

Tribble said he thinks a "weights component" took place sometime during the workout but that Plancher's collapse happened just at the conclusion of a different, ending portion of the workout.

University of Central Florida Police Chief Richard Beary said they first received a call about the UCF football player's collapse at 10:49 a.m. from the athletics staff and medical personnel arrived at 10:52 a.m. to find Plancher unconscious and continued the CPR that had been started by UCF's athletics staff to no avail.

Beary said Plancher was already hooked up to a defibrillator when the paramedics arrived four minutes later, again without a response before he was taken to the hospital where he died.

"It's just a tragedy that happened to a fine young man," Beary said. "…It's a difficult day here at UCF."

UCF postponed the start of spring practice. It was scheduled to open Wednesday.

UCF Coach George O'Leary met with the team after it was learned that Plancher had died. O'Leary was not available for comment, but will be releasing a statement this evening. Plancher is believed to be the first student-athlete to die while still playing for a UCF team.

Tribble said Plancher had passed a physical. The practice was inside an air-conditioned building, but the weather outside wasn't bad. The National Weather Service said it topped out at about 78 degrees in the area, with about 50 percent humidity.

Beary said that there were no indications of anything out of the ordinary in their initial investigation of the incident.

"Nothing at all," he said. "In fact, to have the medical care right there, again when my officers arrived the scene he was already attached to a defibrillator. The medical staff, the training staff did an incredible job knowing what to do…just a very difficult situation."

Plancher played at Lely High School in Naples, where he was the team's offensive MVP as a senior. He was also a member of the National Honor Society, and according to his bio at UCF, also was recruited by Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada-Las Vegas and South Florida.

He enrolled at UCF last spring after graduating early from high school and participated in spring drills with the Knights. He did not see action with UCF last fall when the Knights won the Conference USA championship.

"He was a great kid and was always nothing but respectful," former UCF running back Kevin Smith said. "He was always smiling and worked hard…He was not much of a talker. He didn't really hang. But on the field, he always came to practice working. I'm gonna miss him"

Around campus, the news of Plancher's death started to circulate not long after the Knights' players were first notified.

"It's just kind of a shock," said UCF student Robert Goray, 20. "You'd think that training personnel the athletes have would have been able to help him…It's tragic. I played sports in high school and know what kind of things you go through. You just hope it doesn't happen, you know?"

Plancher said in an interview with the Sentinel last month that he was happy with the decision to move on to college early.

"My goal was to try to get a 4.0 [grade-point average] in the spring so I could get off to a good start," he said. "I wasn't worried about playing time. I just wanted a chance to find my way around." Plancher, who switched from running back to wide receiver soon after arriving at UCF, said the workouts were challenging but he felt he could handle the challenge.

"I'm glad I came out here early because I feel like it definitely gave me an advantage," he said. "It takes some time to get adjusted to playing at this level and I feel like I am way ahead of everyone else in my class."

Plancher still had close ties to his community and high school friends, returning to participate in major milestones during his senior year.

"I got to go back for the prom and it was great," he said. "Everybody gave me high fives and wanted to know what college was like. They treated me like a star."

Staff writer Iliana Limon contributed to this report. Kyle Hightower can be reached at khightower@orlandosentinel.com.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

Hampton Roads Facts, Data and Statistics

Search restaurant inspections Search restaurant inspections
Property Transfers Database Property Transfers Database
Crime Database: JCC Crime Database: JCC

Blogs

Bacon's Rebellion - Op/Ed Blog for Virginia's New Economy Bacon's Rebellion - Op/Ed Blog for Virginia's New Economy
Pickerhead.com - Pickings from the Webvine Pickerhead.com - Pickings from the Webvine