Mitch Petrus, a former University of Arkansas Razorbacks football player, has died.
Petrus was 32 years old.
His death was confirmed by our CNN affiliate in Little Rock, KATV.
CBS Sports reports that the cause of death as told by county coroner Gerone Hobbs is heat stroke. Petrus reportedly complained of being ill Thursday after working outside all day and in his family's shop. Temperatures in Lonoke, where Petrus worked, reached into the mid-90s with heat indexes of more than 100°.
The University of Arkansas football program later tweeted its condolences.
Petrus was an offensive guard for the Razorbacks and played 49 games with 25 starts during his career at the university. He earned All-SEC first-team honors from league coaches and second-team honors by the AP in his senior year, and earned second-team honors from league coaches during the 2007 season.
Petrus earned a degree from the UA in December 2009 in agricultural economics, but he was drafted by the New York Giants during the 2010 NFL Draft. He was picked 16th in the fifth round of the draft. He was on the team that beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.
Petrus played two full seasons for the Giants before moving to the New England Patriots, then to the Tennessee Titans in 2012. He was waived by the Titans in 2013 and returned to Arkansas, where he lived in Lonoke.