22-year-old Sean Matti (born Sept. 18, 1988) joined the Purdue University college football program in 2007 as a walk-on running back.
Matti, a Shoreview, Minnesota native, was reported missing Sunday around 11:30 p.m. of the holiday weekend. Rescue personnel searched for him all day Monday, the 4th of July. He was last seen swimming at 5 p.m. Sunday. The search resumed at 5 a.m. today, and his body was recovered in Lake Freeman in Monticello, Indiana about 30 yards from shore. The Carroll County coroner confirmed his death this morning.
What a sad and tragic Independence Day weekend it is for the Boilermakers family.
Head coach Danny Hope said in a statement: “Purdue football is a family, and I am terribly saddened by the loss of one of our young men. Sally’s and my prayers continue to go out to Sean’s family and all his friends and loved ones. He was a special young man whose positive spirit will be a part of our program forever.”
Matti did not play in ’08 or ’09. But he was listed on the 2011 roster. Former Purdue teammate and current member of the Washington Redskins Ryan Kerrigan posted about the tragedy on Twitter. “RIP my teammate and friend Sean Matti..you’ll be forever loved and remembered. #twotwo.” (Matti wore No. 22 for Purdue.)
So did Purdue college basketball star and recent Celtics draftee JaJuan Johnson. “Prayers go to Sean Matti and his family.”
Assistant coach Donn Landholm spent Monday in Monticello with Matti’s family, and assistants Sean Clark and Cornell Jackson arrived this morning. Marty Dittmar, who serves as volunteer chaplain for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, also is on site.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter