Teenage Football Player Dies on Eve of State Championship: Officials

A high school football player in Georgia was found dead one day before his team was set to play in the state championship, district officials said Sunday night. Brandon Smith, 17, was confirmed dead by the Meriwether County School System in a letter to the district’s families, according to Atlanta station Channel 2 Action News. The letter said officials were “heartbroken to hear the news of the tragic and untimely death of one of our student-athletes, Brandon Smith.” It was not immediately clear how Smith, who played on the defensive line for Manchester High School’s Blue Devils, died or where he was found. “The circumstances behind this tragedy are still being investigated and will be shared publicly by the local authorities,” district officials said in the letter, according to Channel 2. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed to the outlet that it was collaborating with the Manchester Police Department on crime scene processing in the matter.