Two outstanding college football punters were killed Saturday in a car wreck in Wisconsin, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department said.
Former Michigan State University punter Mike Sadler, 24, and University of Nebraska punter Sam Foltz, 22, had been serving as counselors at a weekend kicking camp in southern Wisconsin, Jamie Kohl of Kohl’s Kicking Camps said in a statement posted on twitter.
Louisiana State University place kicker Colby J. Delahoussaye, 21, was injured in the accident, sheriff’s department Lt. Thom Moerman said in a news release. Delahoussaye was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment but his condition was not known Sunday.
The wreck happened on a two-lane highway in an area of Merton, Wisconsin, that’s largely rural and residential, Waukesha County Administrative Deputy Jennifer Wallschlaeger said.
Sadler lost control of the vehicle on wet pavement and it veered off the road and hit a tree, Moerman said. Speed was a factor, he said.
Foltz was a three-year starter for the Nebraska football team and was entering his senior season of eligibility, the school said. In 2015, he was voted the Eddelman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
“Sam was universally loved and respected by everyone he touched and on whom he had a positive influence each and every day,” Nebraska head football coach Mike Riley said.
Sadler, 24, graduated from Michigan State and was a member of the 2013 team that won the Rose Bowl. He was a four-year starter from 2011-14 and was a four-year academic all-American, the school website said.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said on the school website: “Mike impacted so many people not only as a football player, but also from an academic standpoint and in the community as well. … He was one of those people that brightened your day. I always say to try and be a light, and he truly was a light in this world.”
The Lansing State Journal reported that Sadler was entering Stanford Law School in the fall.
LSU head football coach Les Miles issued a statement: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler. We grieve for them. This isn’t supposed to happen to young people who have so much to live for. We are so thankful that Colby will be able to return home to his family and friends.”
