Former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive guard Uchechukwu "Uche" Nwaneri, who grew up in and went to high school in North Texas and was briefly signed to the Dallas Cowboys, died Dec. 30, 2022, after collapsing in his wife's home. He was 38.
According to a report in the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Nwaneri was at his wife's home in West Lafayette, Indiana when she found him unresponsive in a bedroom at about 1 a.m.
The J&C, citing the Tippecanoe County Coroner, said preliminary results indicate Nwaneri possibly died of a heart attack, pending toxicology results. An autopsy showed no signs of foul play.
The Jaguars said on the team's social media accounts "We are saddened to learn of the passing of Uche Nwaneri."
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Nwaneri grew up in North Texas and attended Naaman Forest High School in Garland before playing college football at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
In 2007 he was drafted into the NFL in the fifth round and spent seven seasons with the Jaguars, only missing one game in his final six seasons.
NBC Sports said that of the 104 NFL games Nwaneri played in, he started 92 of them.
Nwaneri signed with the Dallas Cowboys briefly in the summer of 2014, but after working out with the team through the preseason didn't make the team's final cut.
Since retiring from the NFL, Uche kept up with football on his YouTube channel The Observant Lineman. His final tweet, sent on the evening of Dec. 29, was recognizing the passing of soccer great Pele.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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