Former Tarleton football standout Brayden Coverdale dies on spring break
By Cody Johnson and Denise Harroff—
Additional reporting by Megan Andrews
Former Tarleton State University student athlete and Stephenville High School graduate Brayden Coverdale died Sunday night. Officials have not yet released any definite cause of death.
AL.com of Alabama Media Group reported that he “was found unresponsive at a local residence on Perdido Beach Boulevard Sunday night.” They also reported that “paramedics tried to resuscitate him in the ambulance in route to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center in Foley.” According to their reports, his time of death was 11:41 p.m.
Their reports include that the Orange Beach “police believe Coverdale’s death may be related to alcohol poisoning.” However, toxicology test results could potentially take six to eight weeks to be finalized.
Coverdale was a 2012 graduate of Stephenville High School, where he stood out as an athlete in multiple sports including football and track and field. Coverdale enrolled at Tarleton in 2012 on a football scholarship and red-shirted during his first season with the team. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Coverdale played a variety of positions including linebacker, defensive back and tight end. Following the 2015 football season, Coverdale left Tarleton and transferred to Texas Tech University.
Coverdale is survived by his many friends and teammates, as well as his parents, Nicki and Leroy, and his sisters, Makinzi and Kallie. Information regarding funeral services will be updated as it is made available by the university and official sources.
Cooper Cole, a junior at Tarleton, wide receiver on the university’s football team, and friend to Coverdale, said, “If there’s one thing I’ll always remember about Brayden, it was that he made everything fun. No matter how bad of a day any of us were having, if we bumped into Brayden, then we were for sure about to laugh at something he did or said.”
TR Varnado, a student assistant coach for the defensive line for Tarleton’s football team, said, “Brayden had an infectious positive attitude about him. He was always fun to be with, and he was loving—just the kind of person everyone wanted to be around.”
According to the Twitter account of Coverdale’s sister, Kallie, Coverdale’s memorial service will be held at Shallowater Baptist Church at 1008 8th St. in Shallowater, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.
