What happened to Adrian Dingle? Former Chargers star dead at 45
Adrian Dingle, who played as a defensive end for five seasons in the NFL, has died at the age of 45. No cause of death has yet been confirmed by the authorities and there have been no statements by the former defensive end's family. The only information that was accessible is that Dingle passed away on 8 November.
Clemson University, Dingle's alma mater, shared a statement with some highlights from his time with the team on their website:
“Dingle lettered at Clemson in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 and served as a starting defensive end in each of his last three seasons. He helped the Tigers to three bowl games over his career. Overall, Dingle played in 46 games for the Tigers, including 34 games as a starter."
"He started all 12 games in 1996 as a sophomore when he had a career-high 68 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, six of which were sacks. In 1997, he missed a game due to injury but finished with 48 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.”
The statement on Adrian Dingle added:
“As a senior in 1998, he posted 10.5 sacks, a Clemson single-season record at the time. He recorded 15 tackles for loss and 47 total tackles that year and was named second-team All-ACC. He also recorded a team-best 27 quarterback pressures.
“He finished his Clemson career with 180 career tackles, 45 tackles for loss, and 23 sacks. The tackle-for-loss total is still 11th in Clemson history and the sack total ranks sixth.”
NFL All-Pro Marcellus Wiley shared a tweet remembering his Chargers teammate:
🏿
RIP to my teammate @AdrianDingle
We were just hanging, laughing, swapping war stories, and talking family. Rest easy big dog! 🙏🏿❤️ https://t.co/XC4FsxFOao
Adrian Dingle and his NFL career
Adrian Dingle played his entire career in the league with the San Diego Chargers. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. The Clemson Tigers star had a total of 95 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, and five passes defended in 70 career games in the NFL.
His career with the Clemson College has been described above in the statement from the institution.