East Lansing, MI (My Sportsbook) - Former Michigan State center and captain Brian Ottney, who started 33 consecutive games for the Spartan football squad, died on Monday morning. He was just 23. Ottney suffered a seizure and collapsed at a residence in southern California early Monday. He was pronounced dead at Long Beach Community Hospital, leaving behind a 23-year-old fiance who was a former member of the Spartan softball team. "Brian loved the game of football," first-year head football coach John L. Smith said in a statement on the team's website. "It was extremely difficult for him to retire from football. We talked about there being so much more to life than football. Brian was a great young man, and I'm crushed by this tragedy." In 34 career games at Michigan State, Ottney started all but one. He decided to forgo his fifth and final year of eligibility because of chronic knee problems, according to the school's website. |
