Longhorns’ Pittman found dead at scene
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas defensive end Cole Pittman was found dead Monday at the scene of a one-car accident.
State troopers discovered Pittman’s pickup truck on the side of U.S. Route 79 nearly Easterly, about 100 miles northeast of Austin.
State troopers found Pittman’s pickup truck on the other side of a creek along U.S. 79. The truck left the road and down an embankment before landing on the other side of the creek.
Pittman, a sophomore who had played in 23 games in his two seasons at Texas, was returning to school from his family’s home in Shreveport, La.
Longhorns coach Mack Brown told the team Monday afternoon at a meeting that had been scheduled to prepare for spring practice. The workouts were supposed to begin Tuesday, but have been postponed. No new date has been given.
“This is the hardest thing I have faced in 29 years of coaching,” Brown said. “We’ve lost a member of our family and it really hurts. Every member of our team is like a son and you can never prepare yourself for something like this. I don’t even know how to begin.”
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Pittman played defensive tackle as a freshman, then moved to end this past season. He started the first three games in 2000. He had 30 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, five quarterback pressures and caused one fumble in his career.
Pittman enrolled at Texas in the spring of 1999 after helping Evangel High win three consecutive Louisiana 1A state titles and to a state-record 45 straight wins. He was a first-team all-state performer and was named second-team All-USA by USA Today.
“This is absolutely devastating news,” men’s athletic director DeLoss Dodds said. “Our entire athletics program is grieving this loss.”
Before receiving the devastating news, Brown met with the media to discuss his plans for the spring and he immediately put to rest any speculation about his quarterback plans: Chris Simms is a firm No. 1 and Major Applewhite is the backup.
“They will be competing, but there’s no question Chris is the starter,” Brown said. “We don’t feel the need to alternate guys like we did the first of last year.”
