File photo of Ole Miss's Tony Fein carrying the Cotton Bowl trophy. (Rick Guy/The Clarion-Ledger)

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20091006/SPORTS030103/91006036/Former+Rebel+linebacker+Fein+dies

Very sad, tragic news: from David Brandt @ the Clarion-Ledger:

OXFORD — Former Ole Miss linebacker Tony Fein died early Tuesday morning, according to his Oxford-based agent Dee Hobbs.

“It’s just extremely sad,” Hobbs said. “I’ve talked to members of his family and some of his friends. We don’t want to speculate on the cause of death right now out of respect for his family.”

Fein, 27, played middle linebacker at Ole Miss during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Over his two-year career he played in 24 games and made 136 tackles, including eight for a loss.

A native of Port Orchard, Wash., Fein served for more than three years with the United States Army, including a tour in the Iraq War, before playing college football. He played for two seasons at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College before transferring to Ole Miss.

Fein was signed as an undrafted free agent this summer by the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and made it until the final round of cutdowns before being released.

He was arrested during preseason camp in Baltimore for a controversial incident after a police officer allegedly thought Fein had a handgun. It turned out to be a cell phone.

Hobbs said Fein was working out in his home state of Washington while waiting for another football opportunity.