Football Player from Skokie Collapses, Dies During Drills

Shawn Afryl, a 22-year-old football player from Skokie, died this week of an undetected heart disease while doing conditioning drills at Minnesota’s Winona State University, where he was pursuing a teaching degree, according to ABC 7 News.

Afryl graduated from the University of Illinois, but still had eligibility remaining, so joined the Winona team, the report says. His mother says he wanted to be a high school history teacher and football coach.

The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Afryl graduated from Niles West High School, according to an article in TribLocal.

His family in Skokie, who were struggling to afford to bring his body home for burial, raised more than $29,000 in 24 hours after asking for help, more than they were hoping for, TribLocal reports.

You can read the full TribLocal article here.

You can watch the ABC 7 News report here.