Florida International soccer player Luke Knox has died at the age of 22, the school announced Thursday.
Knox, a native of Brentwood, Tennessee, and the younger brother of Buffalo Bills tight end Dawson Knox, spent the last four seasons at Ole Miss before joining FIU.
Knox, who was studying business administration, died Wednesday night, school officials said. The cause was not disclosed, although the university said police are not assuming third-party fault.
“Words cannot express the heartfelt sadness we feel over the passing of our teammate and friend Luke Knox,” FIU coach Mike MacIntyre said in a statement. “I’ve had the honor of coaching Luke at Ole Miss and FIU. While I admired his passion for football, I will always remember his genuine love for his family and teammates. He had a special way of making everyone around him feel comfortable and confident.”
Knox started as a linebacker for Ole Miss in two games in 2019 when MacIntyre served as the defensive coordinator. Playing mostly against special teams over the last two seasons, he had 11 tackles in 2021, two of them in losses.
“We send our thoughts and prayers to Luke’s family, friends and teammates at this difficult time,” the FIU Athletics said in a statement. “Coaches and coaches have reached out to our football family and will continue to do so to ensure our student-athletes have the support they need.”
FIU players were informed of Knox’s death late Wednesday. Thursday’s practice was canceled and grief counselors were called in to meet with the team and others from the university community.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said he woke up to the news Thursday morning and stressed that the franchise will support Dawson Knox and his family.
“My heart goes out — our hearts go out to Dawson and his family during this time,” McDermott said. “We are right there with him supporting him and his family and just tragic news I woke up to this morning. So we love him and we support him and only unfortunate news this morning.”
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.