Dion Stutts, an Arkansas Razorbacks football recruit, died on Tuesday. He was 18 years old. Stutts was killed in an ATV accident near the Batesville, Mississippi area, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He just finished his junior year at Memphis University School in Memphis, Tennessee.
“We are heartbroken over the passing of Dion Stutts,” the Arkansas football team said in a statement, per ESPN. “He was a tremendous young man with a bright future ahead of him. We were as excited to add him to our program as he was to be a Razorback. Our thoughts and prayers are with his mother Shante and father Dino along with his entire family as they deal with this loss.”
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“My heart is aching right now! What a wonderful [human] with an amazing spirit!” Arkansas defensive line coach Deke Adams said on Twitter. I’m at a loss for words! We love you Dion and you will always be a Razorback! Praying for his family!”
Per 247 Sports, Stutts was a three-star recruit and ranked as the 18th-best player in the state of Tennessee. He committed to the Razorbacks in March and had offers from multiple schools, including Austin Peay, Liberty, Louisville, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tulane, and Texas A&M.
“Our hearts are broken for the family,” Memphis Univeristy School head football coach and athletic director Alston told the Commercial Appeal. “Dion was such a great young man. He had a smile that warmed your heart when you had a chance to be around him,” Alston said. “We’re going to miss that smile, miss that wonderful personality and we’re just praying for his family right now.”
Last year, Stutts spoke to 247Sports about getting an offer from Ole Miss. “I have so many posters in my room of Ole Miss stuff. I went to a lot of games. I remember I went to one game when Coach (Hugh) Freeze was the coach and we have a football in my dad’s room that I threw out there to Freeze and he signed it and threw it back. My whole family rotates around Ole Miss. My dad was a (Mississippi) state trooper and he used to have to drive his car to escort Eli Manning. I grew up around all that. It was amazing,” he said. “It’s amazing. It didn’t click at first. They talked to my coaches and my coaches told me about the offer, it didn’t click at first. When I got home from practice and thought about it I was like I really just got offered by the school that I’ve been training my whole life to get offered by, and it blew my mind. I was just so happy.”
