The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Heisman winner Salaam found dead
Police say no foul play suspected after finding body in park.
Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam was found dead Monday night in a Boulder park less than 2 miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the University of Colorado record books as one of the greatest players in the program’s history.
The Boulder County coroner’s office was still investigating the cause of the death of the 42-year-old Salaam, who won the Heisman in 1994. The body of the onetime running back was found at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder. Police say foul play was not suspected.
Salaam’s death stunned the Colorado football community, which this year celebrated a revival with a 10-3 record, an appearance in the Pac-12 Championship game and the Buffaloes’ first bowl bid in almost a decade.
“You talk about a young man who was smart, handsome, talented. He was very, very gifted. He was humble. He was a team guy,” said Bill McCartney, who coached Salaam from 1992-94.
McCartney remembered Salaam as a natural leader.
“His personality was infectious. He just had a warmth about him, a genuineness about him that was really contagious,” McCartney said. “On the surface, he had everything. We thought he was a cut above, and he turned out to be.”
Former teammate Matt Russell, now the Denver Broncos director of player personnel, said Salaam was a “fiercely loyal friend,” the “ultimate teammate” and the very “definition of a winner.”
“He practiced hard, he played hard and he made our teams better,” Russell said. “... My heart goes out to Rashaan’s mother and his family. They have a lot to be proud of with the person that Rashaan was, the way he treated people and the friend he was to everyone he came across. He will be missed by so many.”
Salaam rushed for 2,055 yards and 24 touchdowns as a junior in 1994, leading the Buffaloes to an 11-1 record, a win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and a No. 3 finish in the final polls. He won the Heisman in a runaway.
The Chicago Bears made him a first-round draft pick in 1995, and he rushed for 1,074 yards and 10 touchdowns in winning NFC Rookie of the Year honors.
Injuries cut short his career. He only scored three rushing touchdowns in the next two years in Chicago and played his last NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 1999.
Salaam played for the Memphis Maniax of the defunct XFL and attempted one last comeback with the NFL before retiring.
He fell on hard times after that. In 2011 he auctioned his Heisman ring.
“I don’t understand that,” McCartney said. “You talk about a kid that on the surface had everything. He was a real handsome guy, he was intelligent, he was personable. You couldn’t really point at him and see any deficiencies.”