Minnesota Duluth Mourns Death of Football Player Reed Ryan

DULUTH, Minn. — University of Minnesota Duluth football senior defensive lineman Reed Ryan passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Essentia Health in Duluth at the age of 22.

Ryan collapsed in the team’s weight room back on November 21st. He would fight for his life for a week before passing just short of midnight on Tuesday.

Photo Courtesy: University of Minnesota Duluth

His family confirmed in his obituary that Ryan went into cardiac arrest. They also said that it was due to an undetected genetic heart condition.

A statement from UMD Head Football Coach Curt Wiese, “Our staff and players are devastated about Reed’s passing. Reed aspired to be better every day at whatever task was at hand. He helped bring out the best in others with his positive attitude, infectious smile, and genuine care for the people around him. We were fortunate to have Reed on our team, and he made our program, our department, and our community a better place in a short period of time. Reed will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on forever. He was the epitome of a UMD Bulldog, and what we can all aspire to be. To his family, thank you for allowing us to be part of his inspiring young life. Reed was a Bulldog through and through.”

Even though he spent just a short time in Duluth, Head Coach Curt Wiese had plenty of things to say about Ryan the person.

“He fit right in. He came from a really strong division one football program that he had expectations to come in and play by all of us. And his intent was to make sure everyone around him got better. And that’s just the kind of human being he was. He was a kid who would always stop by your office, stop you in the hallway, stop his teammates and truly ask how you’re doing,” said Wiese.

This past season with the Bulldogs, Ryan recorded seven tackles and assisted another for a total of eight tackles in nine games. With two of those tackles for a total loss of 10 yards, Ryan earned one sack against Northern State on Sept. 9 and posted a collegiate career-best three tackles at Minot State on Oct. 21. Ryan was part of a Bulldog defensive unit that allowed a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) low average of 293.9 yards per game.

Head Coach Curt Wiese added that Ryan was a true student of the game, learning anything to get better on the field.

“I learned this from his dad a week ago. Reed went to a high school camp when he was in Waunakee and a coach, I don’t remember the coach. But the coach told him you have to make sure you write down everything. Don’t leave me without writing down what we’re teaching you. Reed is a kid that took that to heart and he carried a notebook everywhere he went. Didn’t matter what meeting he was involved with. Whether it was in a class. Whether it was with our staff. Whether it was with his teammates. He wrote everything down,” added Wiese.

Ryan was enrolled in the UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics as a double major in Marketing and Professional Sales.

Ryan was a native of Waunakee, Wis. and a 2019 graduate of Waunakee High School. After high school, Ryan spent four seasons with the North Dakota State University football program, where he was a part of two NCAA Division I AA FCS National Championships (2019, 2021). A three-time Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award winner (2020, 2021, 2022), Ryan was also a four-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll member (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

In celebration of Reed’s life, a memorial wake will be held on Friday, December 1 followed by a funeral service on Saturday, December 2.