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15 college football players whose careers ended too soon

By Connor Muldowney

Aug 30, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Clint Trickett (9) throws the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter of the 2014 Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Clint Trickett (9) throws the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter of the 2014 Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 24, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) touches the Chucky Mullins statue as he runs into the locker room after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi won 45-14. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) touches the Chucky Mullins statue as he runs into the locker room after the game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mississippi won 45-14. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /

The first such memorable incident in which a head-first collision left a college player paralyzed was Chucky Mullins in 1989. The former Ole Miss defensive back has since been honored with a statue at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. It reads “Never Quit” which happen to be the most famous words from Mullins.

The incident occurred in an October 1989 game against Vanderbilt. It was Ole Miss’ Homecoming game and the Commodores happened to be in town for one of the most devastating injuries in college football history.

Mullins, a defensive back, was lunging in for a tackle against Vanderbilt fullback Brad Gaines, but he went head-first and it did not end well. He ended up paralyzed because of the major impact on his head and neck and would never see the field as an athlete again.

Ole Miss fans were in shock as he was rushed to the hospital, but never regained any feeling from the neck down. He died just two years later, a year after returning to school to finish his degree, in May of 1991 due to a pulmonary embolism. Chucky will never be forgotten by Ole Miss fans.

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