Mississippi Delta Community College football player dies after game, school cites medical complications
Emanuell Cooks, 18, died after facing Hinds Community College on Sept. 18; MDCC says medical complications were involved; campus and hometown communities mourn.
An 18-year-old college football player died after a game in Mississippi, Mississippi Delta Community College said Friday, citing medical complications. Emanuell Cooks, an offensive lineman for the MDCC Trojans, passed away after participating in the Sept. 18 contest against Hinds Community College.
MDCC announced Cooks’s death the following day and said it would provide counseling services to classmates. In a written statement, MDCC President Dr. Steven Jones expressed condolences and asked the campus community to rally around Cooks’s family, teammates and friends. Our entire Trojan family is devastated by this loss, Jones said, adding that the school would provide the privacy the family and campus community need as they grieve. It remains unclear whether Cooks suffered a medical issue during the game, and coroner's offices in Hinds County and Sunflower County were contacted for information.
Cooks stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 340 pounds during his time on MDCC’s roster. He was known in his hometown of Elba, Alabama, as a larger-than-life presence off the field. Sara Mitchell, an elementary school teacher from Elba, described him as the sweetest gentle giant you would ever meet. Mitchell wrote on Facebook that Our family, students, and staff have suffered an enormous loss, and she praised Cooks’s character and kindness. Elba residents echoed those sentiments online, with Kerry Keesee Johnson posting that All of Elba loved E-Man so much and that the community was shattered.
Officials have not released a formal cause of death, and there was no immediate information about any medical condition that preceded the loss. In Elba and on MDCC’s campus, classmates and staff have sought to balance mourning with privacy as the investigation continues.
Cooks had already posted a short highlight reel from his first three games of the season on Hudl, a platform used by coaches and recruiters. It was not disclosed whether those clips reflected plans to transfer from MDCC to a larger college program. The Bulldogs of Hinds Community College posted condolences, underscoring the tragedy’s impact on both teams and the broader Mississippi junior college football community.
Hinds Community College President Stephen Vacik called the tragedy a sobering reminder of how precious time is, as the teams processed the loss ahead of their next schedule.
MDCC fell to Hinds in what proved to be Cooks’s last game on Thursday, 48-0.