Shooting Leaves College Football Player Dead, NFL Draftee Injured

A Washburn University defensive back was killed in a shooting Sunday morning in Topeka, Kansas. The shooting also injured teammate Corey Ballentine, who was drafted by the New York Giants on Saturday.

Ballentine, a cornerback, was the 2018 Cliff Harris Award winner as the small college defensive player of the year and was one of three Division II players selected to the Senior Bowl. The 23-year-old ran a 4.47 40 at the NFL scouting combine and was selected in the sixth round; he was the last of three cornerbacks drafted by the Giants.

Washburn president Jerry Farley confirmed that Dwane Simmons, 23, was killed in the shooting in a letter to the school Sunday. Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery, Farley wrote.

"Any time we lose a student it is a sad occasion, but it is particularly poignant to lose a student through such a senseless act," Farley wrote. "Both Dwane and Corey have been great examples and representatives of the football team and of Washburn University in general. This was a terrible way to end a day which should have been a day of celebration and a day to look forward to Dwane's upcoming year at Washburn and the beginning of Corey's professional career."

According to police, Ballentine was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Source: ESPN Radio.com

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