Former Purdue, NFL player dies in West Lafayette home

According to West Lafayette police and the Tippecanoe County Coroner, former Purdue football offensive guard and former NFL player Uchechukwu Nwaneri died at his wife's home in West Lafayette.

Nwaneri drove up from Georgia and was at his wife's house in West Lafayette when he collapsed.

Nwaneri's wife found him not breathing in a bedroom in the middle of the night. Costello said that on Friday they called the emergency number.

There were no signs of foul play according to the autopsy.

The preliminary results show a possible heart attack.

Nwaneri started his final season as an offensive guard according to a report written by now retired sports report.

The new-look Boilermakers face LSU in theCitrus Bowl.

Nwaneri's parents came to the US from Nigeria in 1973. His first name is "god's wish."

There was a fight between Nwaneri and Ryan Noblet during practice on July 14, 2005

Nwaneri broke Noblet's jaw by throwing a punch.

According to reports in the J&C, Nwaneri was suspended from the school for the fall semester in 2005.

Noblet said he was sorry to hear of his death.

Nwaneri returned to the team in 2006 for his last season as a Boilermaker.

According to pro- football-reference.com, Nwaneri was drafted by the Jacksonville Jags in 2007.

Ron Wilkins can be reached at rwilkins@jconline. You can follow Ron Wilkins on the social networking site.

The original article was on the Lafayette Journal and Courier.