HOUSTON – A JV football player has died after passing out during practice at Eisenhower High School earlier this week.
Al Smith Jr., 15, was practicing Tuesday afternoon when he told the coach his legs felt wobbly and he didn’t feel well. He was taken off the field where he collapsed.
A coach, who rode in the ambulance with Smith, said he was conscious and talking.
His mother says they were turned away from one hospital because of overcrowding—and detoured on the way to another because of an accident.
Smith was in and out of consciousness for a couple of days, but died Thursday at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
“He went in healthy. His heart was beating good. And then all the sudden it’s started changing. Things started to shut down,” said Al Smith Sr.
An autopsy will be performed to determine if the cause of death was heat-related.
“It’s like a blow to us,” said Smith Sr. “And being on the football field like that—and the temperatures were like 104 degrees—and it’s words I can’t say.”
Smith’s family said he had no medical conditions that they knew of, and they believe the heat killed their son.
“If your kids are out there playing, before they even start, make sure they have plenty of water, of water in their system,” Al Smith Sr. said.
This was his first year on the team and only the second day of practice. The defensive end, who was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 311 pounds, had passed a physical to play football, according to a statement from Aldine ISD.
“He loved football. He wanted to buy his mama a million dollar house and a Lexus,” said Smith Sr.
Smith attended high school in Spring ISD last year, but didn’t play football. He joined the Eagles to fit in at his new school.
“He said, ‘Mom, don’t forget, I got practice. I’ll be home after practice,’” said LeEster Morgan, Smith’s mother. “That was it.”
The Smith family moved to Houston from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They lost everything in the storm.
On Friday, before the Eisenhower Eagles varsity team took its first snap, the crowd at Galena Park ISD Stadium observed a moment of silence.
“It’s a terrible tragedy,” said former Eagle Troy Taylor, who like many came to the game with a heavy heart. “My thoughts were with that young man way before the game was even thought about.”
And thoughts are what Smith’s loved ones were left with, clutching his jersey, number 79. Remembering the young Eagle who never got to play.
