Maryland football offensive lineman Jordan McNair (McDonogh) has been hospitalized after an organized team workout, the athletic department said Monday. The rising redshirt freshman is in critical but stable condition.
No other details were immediately available, but the workout appears to have taken place last week. On Thursday, McDonogh first-year football coach Hakeem Sule tweeted: “Please keep former Eagle/ current Terp @TheRealJMcNair and his family in your hearts and prayers tonight.”
“Jordan’s an outstanding young man and a beloved member of our Maryland football family,” coach DJ Durkin said in a statement. “Our entire program is supporting Jordan and his family during this time. We’re continuing to keep Jordan in our thoughts and prayers.”
A four-star recruit and two-time All-Metro first-team selection from Randallstown, the 6-foot-4, 325-pound McNair appeared in one game as a true freshman last season, against Towson.
Offseason workouts have come under scrutiny nationwide in recent years. Most of the 35-plus college football-related deaths since 2000, according to research by Scott Anderson, Oklahoma’s head trainer and a leading authority on player safety, have been linked to overexertion.
Locally, Towson offensive lineman Gavin Class (St. Paul’s) collapsed in 2013 because of heatstroke suffered during a summer practice. Despite liver failure, he worked his way back to playing shape in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to return to the field for the Tigers. The following year, Morgan State freshman defensive lineman Marquese Meadow died of heatstroke after a preseason practice, autospy results showed.
