UT confirmed McNeil’s death on Twitter.

“We are mourning the loss of VFL LaDarrell McNeil. Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and his teammates. LaDarrell will be dearly missed.”

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As a result of his reputation for playing downhill while attending Dallas’ Wilmer-Hutchins High School, McNeil was a four-star recruit, ranked No. 6 among safety in the country by 247Sports, and named a Parade All-American in 2011. After racking up 148 tackles as a junior, he recorded 124 tackles as a senior, a gargantuan average of 13.8 per game.

McNeil was selected to the Freshman All-SEC squad and became the first player from Tennessee’s 2012 freshman class to secure a starting position. With 58 tackles, he finished seventh on the team and started the final seven games of the season at strong safety.

He finished fourth on the team in tackles as a sophomore, having started all 12 games. He also made a clumsy recovery and an interception.

The Vols fired Derek Dooley after the season and hired Butch Jones. It meant McNeil would play under his third defensive coordinator in three seasons. He was sometimes lost in the system, which often led to him running himself out of plays and being burned by receivers in coverage.

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McNeil had to prove himself as a starter before the season began as a junior, finishing fourth on the team with 76 tackles. In the TaxSlayer Bowl versus Iowa, he made two interceptions, one of which was in the end zone.

at a 2014 interview, McNeil stated, “The competition in the back end really pushed me to strive forward and motivated me to step up my game.”

During his junior year, Willie Martinez served as the defensive backs coach.”I loved coaching LaDarrell McNeil he was a young man of high character, good teammate, one the toughest & most physical players I’ve had the privilege to coach. Thankful & blessed to have been apart of his life. RIP,” Martinez, who is back with the Vols as the defensive backs coach, wrote on Twitter.

After missing the first two games of his senior season with a neck ailment, McNeil intercepted a pass against Western Carolina and returned it 57 yards.

He added an interception against Florida. On Senior Day against Vanderbilt, he posted five tackles and a pass break-up.

McNeil finished the season with 31 tackles.