This story was updated to add more information.
University of Northern Iowa football coach said freshman tight end Parker Sutherland was participating in a routine workout last week when he collapsed, dying two days later.
Sutherland, an Iowa City High School graduate, died Saturday, Feb. 14, just 10 days before his 19th birthday. It was the second tragedy to strike an Iowa college athletics team it less than a week. On Wednesday, Feb. 11, a bus carrying the Iowa Lakes Community College baseball team crashed in Calhoun County, leaving player Carter Johnson, 19, dead and dozens more injured.
Northern Iowa head coach Todd Stepsis said the team was doing a warm-up during their morning workout on Thursday, Feb. 12 when the incident happened.
“We get right through our warm-up in a routine, normal Thursday and he collapsed,” Stepsis said during a news conference Monday, Feb. 16. “… For whatever reason, right after that, that warm up, something happened. We’re not really sure what it was.”
Stepsis, at times choking up as he spoke, said the team had been participating in what he described as a standard “maximum performance” training day, noting players typically have Wednesdays off and return Thursday for a more demanding workout.
He said coaches and staff were immediately at Sutherland’s side and followed their training while medical personnel later provided care.
“We’re crushed,” said Stepsis, holding back tears. “We really are.”
He told reporters the team gathered at his house for several hours on Sunday and will continue to grieve together in the days and weeks ahead. Stepsis plans to work with Sutherland’s family to find a way to honor him, possibly on team jerseys, next football season.
“We’re gonna still cry a lot together,” Stepsis said. “He’s one of one, the type of guy you want to build a team with. If I could have 110 Parkers, I would.”
Stepsis said Sutherland won a team plank competition at the end of a workout two days before he collapsed and recalled his competitiveness and energy around teammates.
“He always had a smile on his face. He always made people feel good about themselves,” said Stepsis, who spoke during UNI’s regular Monday press conference with all coaches. Each gave condolences to Sutherland’s family and team and deferred questions on their own teams out of respect for the loss.
“He lived with passion,” Stepsis said.
Over the weekend, the university declined to release additional details about Sutherland’s death out of respect for his family, but confirmed Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue had been called to a university athletics facility Thursday morning.
A department call log shows responders were dispatched at 7:15 a.m. to the UNI-Dome for an “unconscious/fainting (non trauma)” report. No official medical cause of death has been released.
Sutherland, a 6-foot-6, 221-pound tight end who wore jersey No. 89, appeared in four games as a true freshman during the 2025 season.
A native of Iowa City, he played football, basketball and baseball at Iowa City High School and was a two-time all-district and all-conference athlete.
According to his UNI roster page, video games, movies, pickleball and Legos were among his interests.
In a Saturday message to families and staff, City High principal John Bacon wrote that Sutherland “passed away during the night following a medical episode” and called him “one of the best tight ends in school history” and “a true leader at our high school.”
Iowa City High School head football coach Mitch Moore told the Register that Sutherland “was a larger-than-life figure because of the way he lived his life” with “contagious positivity. He added Sutherland “didn’t have bad days and never met a stranger” and “took so much pride in being a positive influence to the young kids in our community.”
“He was put on this earth to make everybody better and he certainly did,” Moore said.
Sutherland was honored with moments of silence Sunday at the UNI-Drake basketball game and at the UNI-Iowa State wrestling dual at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
According to a preliminary obituary, a celebration of life is Sunday, Feb. 22, at Little Hawk Arena at City High School, with tributes beginning at 2 p.m. and a reception to follow until 5 p.m.
A full obituary is expected to be posted later this week.
Teammates remember Sutherland’s energy and constant smile
Ben Kueter, a former City High teammate now wrestling at the University of Iowa, said Sutherland’s presence was felt even outside games.
The two lifted together in high school, often at Sutherland’s home, where he said his father had built a basement gym that became a gathering spot for teammates.
“Even when we had a 6 o’clock workout in the morning, you could expect the same energy and smile from him,” said Kueter, adding that Sutherland had a way of lifting teammates’ moods even on difficult days.
Tyler Rindels, who also played with Sutherland at City High and now plays offensive line at Northern Illinois, said many of his memories of Sutherland center around that same home gym and the casual time teammates spent there together.
“He was never down. He was always positive,” Rindels said. “Even at hard practices, I could just hear him laughing in the background.”
He called Sutherland “a great friend” and said one of his favorite memories with him was just recently.
“I was just over at his house over winter break watching, I think it was Miami-Ole Miss, the college football playoffs,” he said. “We had some pizza, and we hung out and watched the game.”
Rindels said he was stunned when he learned of Sutherland’s death.
“I was just really shocked. I didn’t really believe it at first,” he said. “I kind of just sat there, just in disbelief.”
John Klosterman, another former City High teammate who now plays linebacker at Penn State, said they grew closer over time through shared lifts, often at the Sutherland family’s basement gym. Sutherland eventually felt “like a little brother” to him, he said.
“He was always trying to get bigger. He always asked me, ‘How’d you get so big, John?'” Klosterman said. “I was like, ‘Well, Parker, I’m not 6-6 like you.’”
Klosterman’s mother was with the Sutherland family at the hospital and called him early the morning Sutherland died.
“It didn’t seem real. It was pretty tough to wrap my mind around that this weekend,” he said. “I think the hardest thing for me was the fact that someone at 19 could just die like that.”
Klosterman said what stood out most about Sutherland was his personality.
“It’s not his athletic ability that helps the team most, it’s the energy he brings to everything,” he said. “It was infectious to everyone and made everyone’s day a little bit better.”
He said medical professionals are still running tests to better understand the circumstances of Sutherland’s death and the tragedy has prompted conversations among athletes about preventive heart screenings.
“I hope that all colleges start upping the importance of having EKG and echocardiogram testing from this to make sure these things don’t go unnoticed,” Klosterman said. He noted that at Penn State every newcomer gets an EKG and an echocardiogram and the testing has previously identified serious issues among teammates before they became life-threatening. It’s unclear if UNI does similar tests.
According to a UNI news release, Sutherland is survived by his parents Adam and Jill Sutherland and a sister, Georgia.
Des Moines Register reporter Eli McKown contributed to this article.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: UNI football player Parker Sutherland collapsed during routine workout
Reporting by Nick El Hajj and Kyle Werner, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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