O.J. Murdock, a wide receiver on the Tennessee Titans, killed himself yesterday morning with an apparent gun shot blast to the head. He was 25.
Tampa police report that Murdock's body was found around 8:30 a.m. inside his car, which was parked in front of Middleton High School, at which the athlete starred as a football player and sprinter years ago.
Just a few hours prior to taking his own life, Murdock left a text message for Al McCray, the assistant head coach at Fort Hays State. It thanked him for all McCray did for Murdock and his family and it also included an apology.
Murdock had been a couple days late to Tennessee's training camp, but teammates weren't concerned because he had been recovering from an injury that caused him to miss all of last season.
"It's tough. He was always a happy guy who played around a lot and always had a smile on his face," said fellow wideout Damian Williams. "I definitely didn't see it coming."
Having signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Murdock was taken to Tampa General Hospital after police made the discovery yesterday. Our thoughts go out to his loved ones.