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Former Alabama running back passes away following double shooting
By Keith Farner
Published:
Santonio Beard, a former Alabama running back, died from a gunshot wound on Friday, according to police in Georgia.
Beard, who went to Alabama out of Pearl-Cohn High School in Tennessee, was involved in an incident where Beard, 41, and another man each suffered gunshot wounds. Beard died at the scene, and the other man was taken to a hospital, the Tennessean reported. No arrests have been made and the investigation remains active.
A two-time Tennessee Mr. Football, Beard had a stellar career.
Beard’s former high school coach, Maurice Fitzgerald, once claimed that he was one of the greatest players he had ever coached.
“Look at it this way in Metro,” Fitzgerald said. “He was the all-time leading rusher, he was the all-time leading scorer, he was two-time Mr. Football and two-time state championship. There’s nobody in that class.”
Beard was a feature of the Alabama rushing attack in 2001 and 2002, where he rushed for 1,514 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.
Highlights of Beard’s career at Alabama included 199 yards rushing against Auburn and five touchdowns against Ole Miss as a junior.
Beard passed on his final year of eligibility at Alabama to enter the NFL Draft after his coach Dennis Franchione left to became the coach at Texas A&M.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
