Two years ago Avery Atkins earned a starting CB, as a true freshman, spot late in the season when the starter got injured. He performed well in the last several games and the bowl game win against Iowa. He seemed like a coming star and was a 5 star coming out of high school. Great things were expected of him in 2006 going into spring practice. By all accounts he was a good kid and no trouble, but about halfway though spring practice a year ago he suddenly wasn't on the practice field. Turns out he had gotten his girl friend pregnant and didn't handle the situation very well. He was arrested, but not convicted, of hitting her. He dropped out of school and asked to be released from his scholarship. Urban Meyer refused at first, with the support of his mother, but later relented and gave him his release. Avery was later granted a chance to return to school and take a year off from football and earn his way back on the team. This didn't last very long. This morning he was found dead in his car and there is no murder investigation. This kid could have succeeded in the NFL, but when some things went wrong he made some bad choices. It's a shame to lose someone so young, but life choices do have consequences. He apparently was into drugs etc. Enough from me, here's a couple of links, one to a newspaper account aout his death and one to GatorCountry where one of the writers writes about the Avery he knew prior to the changes a little over a year ago. It's a sad story. Newspaper Account of Avery's Death The Avery Atkins I Once Knew Gator Bill
Very sad indeed. I saw this early this morning on another site. I didn’t report it out of respect for UF members here. I though it might be taken as a jab by some. People… when will we learn that drugs, ALL DRUGS, destroy lives? Does Marijuana? Yes, it has the potential in people with addictive personalities. Do you think this kid started his drug abuse with cocaine? Probably not. I know people that are now pushing 50 that have been smoking MJ since becoming a teenager. Some of them never went on to anything else. Others just had to find that higher high. Those are the ones that wind up like this kid. The ones that did not go on to other drugs (that I know of) have not made a thing out of their lives. They live to numb themselves with their drug of choice, Marijuana. Now for the flip side. I do know a select few that have made a highly successful career and occasionally will smoke MJ. The ironic part is that I have two relatives that fit two of these slots. They are brothers… one is now 51 and the other is my age, 49. The 51 year old runs his own very successful business and has been since graduating from UT Chattanooga in 1978. The 49 year old, if I am remembering correctly, went to college from 1977 to 1983 and has no degree to show for it. He drinks heavily and is into Marijuana (I don’t know of anything else but not sure). The last I heard, he is working for a lawn service when he can drag himself out of bed. His liver functions are very bad. He has been told that the drinking is killing him (doctor does not know about anything else) but he refuses to stop. He has been told that he will not be a candidate for future liver transplants because of his refusal to stop. His response was to go home and open up another bottle of Jack Daniels and fire up another doobie. Two brothers… two totally different outcomes… Who can determine which path a person will take when they start their drug use. I can’t. Nobody can. This is why I am so against Marijuana and why I preach to my fellow firefighters to reduce their alcohol intake.
Tom, this is a little late but I am with you. Here's one final article about Atkins funeral attended by 2000 people. Atkins Funeral It's still a very sad story.