Former MSU football player Looney dies
Tragedy struck the Mississippi State football family yet again in 2020.
Former MSU offensive lineman and current Louisiana assistant offensive line coach D.J. Looney passed away on Saturday morning after collapsing at a practice on campus with a heart attack. The coach and former Bulldog player was 31 years old.
The University of Louisiana confirmed the news on its Twitter account on Saturday.
“The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Department of Athletics mourns the loss of Louisiana Football assistant coach D.J. Looney, who passed away Saturday morning following a heart attack during a team workout at Cajun Field,” the statement read. “At this time, the Department of Athletics asks that fans, friends and acquaintances of Coach Looney keep his family and the football program in their thoughts and prayers.”
It's the third former player from the last decade that has passed away this year. Former wide receiver De'runnya Wilson was shot and killed in Birmingham in January and former defensive lineman P.J. Jones' body was found in Jackson in February, both under the age of 30. Two more players last decade were taken too soon when defensive linemen Nick Bell and Keith Joseph Jr. died from cancer and a car wreck respectively.
"The entire Mississippi State
Family is deeply saddened and heartbroken by the loss of one of our very own in D.J. Looney,” MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said in a statement released by the school Saturday. “D.J. was an outstanding student-athlete and coach and an even better person. He had such a positive personality, attitude and always a smile on his face. D.J. will be remembered and missed by all who knew and loved him. Our thoughts and prayers are with D.J., his family, his friends, his former teammates, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Mississippi State."
Looney was a rising star in the coaching profession as he was beginning his third season with Louisiana as the offensive line assistant. His crew was paving the way for one of the country's best rushing attack. In 2019, the Ragin Cajuns were sixth nationally in rushing yards per game at 257.4 and they had 3,604 yards rushing thanks in large part to the experienced line that Looney was helping develop.
He was back at his alma mater at MSU in 2017 as the tight ends coach for head coach Dan Mullen helping the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record in Mullen's last season. That was Looney's first major college position but he had already developed some contacts and experience in the game. He coached offensive tackles and tight ends at Central Arkansas and also was a graduated assistant coach for the Georgia Bulldogs along
with coaching the offensive line and recruiting coordinator at East Mississippi Community College.
The Birmingham native was recruited by Sylvester Croom out of Oak Mountain High School and was the No. 11 center nationally and a first-team Allstate blocker. He played for Croom and Mullen and helped the Bulldogs to two bowl games in his fouryear career.
"Rhonda and I were stunned and saddened to learn of the untimely passing of former Bulldog student athlete D.J. Looney,”
MSU President Mark Keenum said in a statement. “D.J was a tremendous young man with a limitless future. We had a special relationship with him and eagerly followed his successes. His loved ones and friends will remain in our prayers."
Looney's impact went beyond the field as he was an advocate for student athletes at State, in the Southeastern Conference and nationally. He was the vice president of MSU'S Campus Student Advisory Council as a sophomore and became the president of the council the next year. He also spent three years on both the SEC Student Advisory Council and the NCAA Football Issues Committee.