Kyle Werner | Des Moines Register

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa freshman football player Parker Sutherland has died,of a medical emergency the school announced.

The university said Sutherland, who would have turned 19 Feb. 24, died Saturday, Feb. 14. It declined to release any details about his death, but it said that Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue had been called to a university athletics facility on Thursday.

The call log for the department shows it responded to a call at the UNI-Dome concerning a report of “unconscious/fainting (non trauma).”

“We are devastated — just devastated,” Franklin added. “The blessing is that we have a Panther family who will hold the Sutherland family, our football team, and our athletics staff close as we grieve.”

UNI football head coach Todd Stepsis said in the news release that “no words can express my condolences” to Parker’s family.

“Parker embodied everything we look for in a UNI Football Panther,” he said. “His talent and potential excited us on a daily basis, but it failed to compare to the type of person and teammate he was. His character, humility, toughness and genuine love of others are what champions are made of. While I’m saddened that our time together was short, we will celebrate the bright light that he brought to our football team for the rest of our lives.”

Sutherland was a tight end for the Panthers and wore jersey number 89, according to the team’s roster. At Iowa City High, he played football, baseball and basketball and was a two-time All-District and All-Conference athlete.

Iowa City High School Head Football Coach Mitch Moore said Sutherland “was a larger-than-life figure because of the way he lived his life” with “contagious positivity,” adding that he “didn’t have bad days and never met a stranger” and “took so much pride in being a positive influence to the young kids in our community.”

“He was put on this earth to make everybody better and he certainly did,” Moore said.

Sutherland’s roster profile says he enjoyed video games, watching movies, pickleball and Legos.

It was the second tragedy to strike an Iowa college athletics team this week. On Wednesday, a bus carrying the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team crashed, in Calhoun County, leaving one player dead and dozens more injured.