Condolences to the family of former NFL safety Keion Carpenter, a former Virginia Tech and Woodlawn standout. He was a great person— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 28, 2016
Keion was a VT safety from 1995-1998, a fixture in the heyday of DBU. Details at this time are scarce but VT Football tweeted out condolences, as well as the following statement from Frank Beamer:
STATEMENT FROM FRANK BEAMER On the passing of Keion Carpenter pic.twitter.com/og9lFp0PrI— VT Football (@VT_Football) December 29, 2016
Keion was the CEO of The Carpenter House, an organization with the following mission:
The Carpenter House aims to strengthen and empower families from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing access to resources, activities and structured environments that enable them to reach their highest academic and economic potential. We are committed to delivering services that rebuild communities through education, financial literacy, and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Ut Prosim, indeed.
Keion was 39 years old. Condolences to his friends and family. A great Hokie has passed.
Update: Other reports indicate Keion has not passed away. I waited to make this post until VT Football came out with their statement, but perhaps that information was premature. This post will be updated as news emerges. Please share any updates in the comments.
Update 2: It is official. Rest in peace, Keion.
A spokeswoman for the family just confirmed: Keion Carpenter died this morning at 6:47 in Miami.— Bruce Cunningham (@Bruce45Sports) December 29, 2016
Comments
If I recall correctly, during one of the tributes towards Frank's retirement, Keion stated that his own parents stopped believing in him but Frank never did.
That hit me hard, Keion helped set the standard for VT football.
RIP to a great Hokie and great man.
Reports further state he collapsed while running.
I was too young to remember his college days but I recall him playing on Sundays with the Bills and Falcons. 2016 continues to take the great ones from us. Rest in peace.
Too young with too much promise! One of the best!
He was really the heart of the '98 D. RIP Keion.
Fuck, way too soon. RIP to a man who was really doing big things that mattered.
That's terrible news and goes to show how life can be so fleeting. I remember hearing Keion on a few of the Ravens pre-game broadcasts just a couple years ago, he being a Baltimore native and HS baller before becoming a Hokie, and you could tell on those broadcasts he was big-time Hokie proud. Keion seemed like a guy who constantly overachieved, playing and starting in the NFL for the Bills and Falcons, when few would have thought he'd achieve such heights. He was a great ambassador for the Hokies in the NFL and regionally, and he will be sorely missed. Way too early to go - RIP, Keion
I'M GETTING PRETTY DAMN TIRED OF YOUR FACE 2016.
Rest in peace sir.
Hmm, let's see what new info we get based on the tweet above2016...why? just end already.
r.i.p. too soon
He ut prosimed well. Rest In Peace, young man.
The 99 yd interception return to cement the 1996 Miami win was a cornerstone play of the Beamer era.
I was there live and will never forget it. Great player.
Thanks for the memory, just watched the clip on youtube. Great player that helped make VT DBU!
R.I.P. #1...thoughts and prayers to his family.
Hopefully the information can be straightened out.
He was an icon in the secondary during my time at Tech. Players like him helped grow my heart and passion for the program.
What a Hokie!
Dammit. Hokies (and former players in general for any team, any sport, any whatever) going down before me is bunk. This should not be the case. Way too young. Way too soon.
Gobble. Gobble. In peace.
Sources saying he is in hospital currently in private care. Keep fighting Keion
https://twitter.com/Bruce45Sports/status/814287048232337408
What the fuck, 2016.... Stop this shit already!
Even if he hasn't passed reports are that he's in a coma which is bad enough in its own right.
Prayers
Can we PLEASE have the title of this thread changed to "Coma" instead of "Passed away"?? C'mon Keion. You GOTTA fight it! You're one of my heroes! Fight it, Keion!UPDATE: FUCK DAMMIT!!!!!!!!
He probably hasn't seen the update yet. For those who haven't, according to Bruce Cunningam's twitter, Keion's family confirms that he passed away at 6:47 this morning.
Prayers to those he left behind.
https://twitter.com/Bruce45Sports/status/814467699619336192
He passsed away this morning.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Bruce45Sports/status/814467699619336192
@VT_Football goofed here (surprise). They were treating this like breaking news and wanted to get the story out first. They posted he had died last night, but ended up deleting it.
RIP Keion
They weren't trying to break news. His passing was announced by numerous news and sports organizations and reporters.
This sucks. RIP.
The original #1 jersey. He was my favorite Hokie growing up- my brother and I would take turns being Keion in backyard football games.
One of the most memorable games was on his Keion's birthday (we made a Happy Birthday Keion sign for this game) October 31, 1998 vs. West Virginia, when we beat the ranked Moutaineers. Will never forget going absolutely nuts that game.
Terrible news. I'm hoping some kind of tribute can be arranged for the bowl game today. Great Hokie and a great player.
how long would it take to get stickers for the back of helmets. Id take a piece of medical tape with the number one written in black sharpie.
One of my fave games of him in the pros, Wildcard Game at Lambeau, picks off Favre at 1:42:34. I always felt like he was robbed of 1 or 2 Pro Bowls.
Damn, what a good dude. RIP Keion.
Punt block is at 1:20 here:
Awesome, don't watch the pass after...
His time on campus overlapped with mine, and I'm having trouble processing this. Damn, the world lost a great person. RIP KC.
We all have another person to toast and remember on New Year's Eve.
Such a tragic loss. Those teams were the cornerstone of modern Virginia Tech football, and Carpenter was one of the studs that helped make the defense literally scary to opposing teams.
RIP you great Hokie!
Dang
'They were running to the car when he slipped, fell, hit his head and slipped into a coma. It was just a freak accident,' Carpenter's cousin Jamila Smith told The Baltimore Sun. 'He was always healthy; he went to the doctor, ate well and worked out.'
edit: from what I read the "They" referred to was Keion and his son.
Wow, talk about tragic - that's horrible. I hope perhaps the team does something to memorialize Keion today, like a small helmet sticker with the number 1, or something along those lines. I'm just wondering if they can do it for a bowl game, and on such short notice.
...it's just so unreal. Hurts for sure.
Ugh, this sucks. He was one of us!
Also, 2016 just will.not.quit.with.this.nonsense:
LaVell Edwards too
So tragic. RIP Keion.
Let's win one for #1.
I hope we do something during the Bowl for Keion. Probably not enough time for a helmet sticker, but at least a moment of silence or something.
On Arkansas punts today, all the Hokie fans should hold up 1 finger in honor of #1 Keion, the block master himself.
Best thing the team can do to honor Carpenter, is kick the Razorbacks' asses all over the field and win the damn game.