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| Fernandina Beach Police respond Thursday to a report of a death at 2570 First Ave. The dead man was unknown to the renters of the house, who said he had arrived with friends at a party Wednesday night. Photo by Ryan Smith/News-Leader
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Alabama football player dead
By Ryan Smith, News-Leader
A 21-year-old University of Alabama football player was found dead Thursday on the balcony of a First Avenue house. Foul play is not suspected, but it has not been ruled out.
Police said residents told them they did not know David Aaron Douglas, who had arrived with friends for a party at the house Wednesday night. They found him dead Thursday morning.
Douglas was a 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive lineman who was preparing for his first season at the University of Alabama after transferring from the University of Tennessee. A native of the Knoxville, Tenn., area, his death was first confirmed by his high school coach.
"Yes he is dead. I cannot talk right now but am deeply saddened by this tragedy," said George Quarles of Maryville High School in a text message to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Douglas had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a driving under the influence charge, and one national sports outlet reported that he suffered from depression. Fernandina Beach Police Chief James Hurley said he had recently come to Jacksonville "to get his head straight about something."
Fernandina Beach Police said his body would be taken to the Jacksonville Medical Examiner's Office to determine cause of death.
"We responded to 2570 First Avenue," Fernandina Beach Police Capt. Mark Foxworth said Thursday morning. "Apparently there had been a group of young adults there last night, estimated to be 12 to 15 people. A subject who was not known to any of the people renting the residence or who owned the residence came unannounced with some other friends.
"As the party progressed people came and went, and people went to bed. They woke up this morning to find a white male . . . dead on the balcony of the home."
"At this point, there are no obvious signs of foul play, but foul play has not been ruled out at this point," he said. "Right now all possibilities are open. There's a possibility of drugs, a possibility of alcohol, a possibility of foul play, a possibility of medical problems. At this point we're not ruling out anything. As a caution, we're processing it as if foul play were involved so we don't lose any evidence."
"The people who actually live at the residence (weren't) sure of his identity. They say that he came with two girls that they know, but they never met him before last night," he said. "He was introduced to them as a friend from out of town."
Hurley said Thursday afternoon, "This guy arrived a couple of days ago at the (Jacksonville) airport. He was picked up by a couple of his buddies who were also from the Knoxville-Maryville area.
"He was to spend nine or 10 days here in the Jacksonville area. His mother sent him down here, and I'm not exactly sure what that was about, except that he needed to think, apparently, or get his head straight about something."
Hurley said Douglas arrived at the party "between 11 and 11:30" Wednesday night.
"There was, according to statements from persons at the scene, alcohol, marijuana and discussion of other pills. I don't know what involvement the victim had with any of that, but we're looking at this as (a medical examiner) case at this point. In the past, we've looked at numerous multi-drug toxicity cases where combinations of drugs have proved fatal. That's not to say that's what this is; that's for the (medical examiner) to decide.
"Any kind of thing is possible. We don't speculate; we wait for the (medical examiner's) report."
Hurley said "(Douglas) put some Twitter messages out there at like 1 o'clock in the morning saying that he was 'bout to kick it with my new friend Emily.' Apparently he met a couple of local girls yesterday sometime, and they invited him to this party. He arrived at the party by cab about 11, 11:30."
Hurley said "many people left this party, and this guy was apparently alive and well at at least 2 o'clock, maybe 3 o'clock this morning. We responded to the call at 8:13 a.m."
Douglas was arrested Christmas Eve and charged with DUI in Tennessee. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to serve 48 hours in jail before serving the rest of his sentence of 11 months, 29 days on supervised probation.
Douglas was expected to compete for the starting left offensive tackle spot at Alabama, according to ESPN.com. He started 10 games at Tennessee before he transferred to Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz., for a year before transferring to Alabama.
Both of his parents were former Tennessee athletes. His father, David, was an offensive lineman on the Volunteers' 1985 SEC championship team and later played in the NFL, according to ESPN. His mother, Karla Horton Douglas, was the starting center on the Lady Vols' 1987 national championship basketball team.
SBNation.com reported Thursday that "Douglas had an impeccable Tennessee pedigree as the son of a Vols' offensive lineman and Lady Vols basketball player. He redshirted his first year at UT in 2008, moving from tight end to lineman before working his way up to starting right tackle in 2009, where he earned Freshman All-America honors.
"Douglas left the Vols in 2010, after the team's second consecutive coaching change, citing a diagnosis of depression, and played for a year at Arizona Western Community College in Yuma. Rated a four-star Rivals prospect, he signed with Alabama in November 2010, and promptly got himself arrested for DUI back in his hometown. He remained on the roster for the Crimson Tide, however, and was last seen on the field scrimmaging with the second team in the 2011 A-Day game while recovering from foot surgery."
The Knoxville News-Sentinel wrote that "Douglas blossomed on the offensive line as a freshman under (former coach Lane) Kiffin after signing originally with Phillip Fulmer, and the possibility of another coaching transition never seemed to appeal to him in early 2010. He later admitted to battling depression after parting ways with UT and Dooley, who stipulated Douglas transfer at least eight hours away from home as part of the separation from the program.
"Douglas fulfilled his end of the deal at Arizona Western College then signed with Alabama, a school that would have given him two games against the Vols before his collegiate career ended."
rsmith@fbnewsleader.com
Story created May 16, 2011 - 08:18:08 PDT.
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