MitchMash: Another teen life taken on the gridiron

By Mitch Stephens Jul 27, 2011, 8:20am

Miramar (Fla.) lineman Isaiah Laurencin collapses on field Tuesday and dies Wednesday morning.

It's already started. Another tragedy on the football field. It's not even August.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Miramar (Fla.) senior offensive lineman Isaiah Laurencin died early this morning at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Fla.

The newspaper reported that Nadine Drew, a Broward schools district spokesman, said Isaiah collapsed during football conditioning at Miramar approximately 5 p.m. Tuesday and was taken to Memorial West hospital.

He was later taken to DiMaggio, where he passed on.

Isaiah was listed as a 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior last season on our website and numerous recruiting sites had him listed as a Division I prospect, included beRecruited.com. Here is a recruiting video of Isaiah. 

Much too early to know the cause of death, but it seems every preseason in the swelter of the summer, heat exhaustion regularly takes lives throughout the country.



Here are some previous stories we've had to write, followed with preventative measures: Early highlights trumped by tragedy and Beckman (Calif.) mourns loss of classmate. The NFL and Gatorade have also started a program called "Beat the Heat." 

Even when these measures are followed, the combination of heat and early conditioning often appears too much.

We repeat, at this point, we don't know what took the life of Isaiah.

With heavy heart, we pass on our condolences to the Laurencin family and Miramar community.