The 21-year-old football player died from a head injury during a Division 2 college game

Tyler Ulrich, a 21-year-old sophomore football player, suffered a head injury during a game at Southern Nazarene University on Saturday that proved fatal five days later.

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A second-tier soccer player has died five days after suffering a "traumatic injury" during a game.

Tyler Ulrich, a 21-year-old sophomore who played at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Oklahoma, has died from an injury he suffered, the school announced Thursday.

Southern Nazarene, located in Bethany, Oklahoma, has not disclosed what exactly caused Ulrich's death, but he suffered a head injury last Saturday.

"It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of our SNU football player, Tyler Ulrich," SNU Athletics wrote on its X account.

"This loss is deeply felt across our campus. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, teammates and all who knew him. We ask that you join us in prayer."

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Dustin Hada, the head coach of the Southern Nazarene football program, mourned the loss of his player on social media.

"A man of God, the ultimate example of quiet strength, faithful, hardworking, happy. That's what Tyler was!!"

Ulrich's father, Mark, posted on Facebook earlier Thursday that his son continued to fight, saying the family "really needs a miracle." Unfortunately, he could not recover.

"Our family is truly blessed to receive all the love and prayers for our young Tyler and we are forever grateful," she wrote in a post Thursday afternoon. "But as much support and love has been given, it is with a heavy heart that I write to say that God called Tyler this morning at 11:13am."

The game was delayed for nearly an hour on Saturday as Ulrich received medical attention after a game in which he was injured. He was later taken to the hospital.

The Liberty Flames turf is painted with numbers before the college football game between the Sam Houston Bearcats and the Liberty Flames on October 8, 2026 at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia (Icon Sportswire)

Ulrich was in his third season with SNU, where he started 16 of his 20 games with the program. He had 6 starts this season and recorded 36 tackles on the year.

SNU canceled its game at Southwestern Oklahoma State as a result of Ulrich's death.

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