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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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Nov 30, 2015; Chattanooga, TN, USA; Connecticut Huskies logo prior to the game between the Chattanooga Lady Mocs and the Connecticut Huskies at McKenzie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Chattanooga, TN, USA; Connecticut Huskies logo prior to the game between the Chattanooga Lady Mocs and the Connecticut Huskies at McKenzie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /

As a redshirt freshman for Connecticut, Casey Cochran was handed the reigns of the offense, playing in eight games and passing for 1,293 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing about 63 percent of his throws. He had a bright future ahead of him, it seemed.

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The 2014 season rolled around and the redshirt freshman had high expectations for himself, but in the first game of the season against BYU, he suffered a hit that would end his career. On a fourth-down play, Cochran was drilled by a Cougar linebacker and blacked out as his head bounced off the turf.

Cochran detailed his last-ever college play in The Players’ Tribune.

"My vision blurred again. Once I got to the sideline and I was met by teammates and doctors. They asked question after question. I responded to most of them with, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” But I knew immediately that I was not. I knew I had just played the last snap of my career. It was my 13th concussion — a baker’s dozen of brain injuries since I took my first head hit at the age of 11. I understand the weight of this number, and I totally get why people look shocked when I tell it to them."

Yes, you read that correctly, he had suffered 13 concussions to that point in his career before he finally decided that his long-term health was more important than the game he loved. He retired shortly after that game in 2014 as a redshirt sophomore.

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