Week 4 of college football had its fair share of highlights and upsets, but in Mississippi the game was overshadowed by heartbreak. A young life was cut short, and what should’ve been a night of joy turned into grief. Nobody in Moorhead expected Thursday’s game under the lights to end in tragedy. For Mississippi Delta Community College, their matchup with Hinds was the last time offensive lineman Emanuell Cooks ever stepped on the field.

Cooks, a freshman from Elba, Alabama, died after the Trojans’ matchup with Hinds Community College on September 18. The school later confirmed that Cooks passed away from “medical complications” after the game. Just four games into his college career, the 6’5, 340-pound lineman was already starting to make an impact. But his story ended far too soon. Hinds may have left with a 48-0 dub, but the scoreboard faded in importance. The real loss came once the game was over.

The program released a statement the next day, with MDCC President Steven Jones speaking for the Trojan family: “Our entire Trojan family is devastated by this loss. At this time, our deepest thoughts and prayers are with Emanuell’s family, teammates, coaches, and friends. We will come together as a community to support one another through this tragedy.”

Even the opponent that night, Hinds Community College, expressed their grief. Their president, Stephen Vacik, put it simply: “When we lose a student-athlete in the prime of his life, it is a sobering reminder of how precious our time here on earth really is.” For two schools that went to battle hours earlier, the rivalry had evaporated, and only respect remained. Counseling and support services were rolled out at Mississippi Delta, because some wounds aren’t just healed by practice or game tape.

But as heavy as it is, Mississippi football has been here before. Sadly, 2025 has been cruel with its tragedies. From LSU wideout Kyren Lacy passing away earlier this year, to what happened in July with Ole Miss freshman Corey Adams, there has been a lot of trauma for football fans and athletes. Cooks’ story becomes part of a heartbreaking list of young athletes whose lives ended far too soon.

Honoring the late Ole Miss Rebel

If Cooks’ sudden passing left the people of Mississippi stunned, the heartbreak wasn’t new. Ole Miss was still grieving the loss of Corey Adams, the 18-year-old defensive end shot and killed in July in Cordova, Tennessee. It began as a neighborhood shooting turned into a nightmare for the Rebels. Adams was built like a tank. He was a 6-foot-5 force from New Orleans, a two-time all-state standout who chose Ole Miss over LSU, TCU, and USC. He had the frame, the motor, and the upside to be a force in Pete Golding’s defense. Instead, his college career ended before it even had a chance to begin.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the chilling details. The shooting took place around 10:14 p.m. on July 19, outside a home on Fern Glade Cove. The word on the street is that Adams was found in a car with a gunshot wound and pronounced dead at the scene. Also, some four other young men were injured, though none critically. Detectives recovered shell casings and launched a homicide investigation.

Adams was expected to grow under defensive line coach Randall Joyner, part of a recruiting class Lane Kiffin called the building blocks for the program’s future. This is where the college football shows its raw humanity. Forget NIL deals and rankings for a second. These are just kids, barely out of high school, chasing dreams that sometimes come with real-life dangers. Adams was a three-star recruit, ranked No. 609 nationally, and a source of hope for his community. That hope got cut short that night in Cordova.