Friends, ex-teammates and former coaches remembered 1994 Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam as much more than a football star upon hearing of his death in a park not far from the University of Colorado, where he stamped his name as one of the greatest players in the program’s history.
“This is a great loss to the lives he had touched,” said former Buffaloes assistant coach Brian Cabral, who recruited Salaam to Boulder.
Ex-teammate Kordell Stewart, who went on to achieve the kind of NFL success that eluded Salaam, said, “This is a tough one. He was our jewel.” He said Salaam “never wanted to be celebrated, he just wanted to play football.
“He just wanted to be one of the guys, a big kid playing a child’s game, and he won the biggest prize there is,” Stewart said. “Football wasn’t who he was; it was just what he did. He didn’t care about his accomplishments. He cared about the people around him.”
Salaam was found dead Monday night in Eben B. Fine Park in Boulder, less than 2 miles from Folsom Field, where he carved his name into the school’s record book from 1992-94. Police said foul play wasn’t suspected.