Vivid memories of Korey Stringer.(Minnesota Vikings player who died after practice)(Brief Article)

It was pure coincidence that on Monday, July 30, we were in Mankato, Minn., watching the first day of Vikings training camp.

Watching Korey Stringer.

It was coincidence because The War Room scouting team and I are in the midst of our Camp Caravan, crisscrossing the country to every NFL training camp. July 30 happened to be our day with the Vikings, our seventh stop out of 31. Little did we know that we were watching a man struggle through one of the last practices of his life.

The heat and humidity were brutal that day. On the sidelines, all six of us were sweating profusely--and we were just standing there, taking notes. The players were in front of us in shorts and shoulder pads. Most teams begin camp in full pads, but coach Dennis Green was doing what he could to work around the weather.

That Monday morning, it was obvious that Stringer was struggling. Twice, we saw him get sick. However, Stringer finished practice strongly with no other noticeable complications.

The afternoon practice was a different story. About midway through practice, which Green delayed by 75 minutes to avoid some of the midday heat, Stringer walked off the field with one of the trainers. Again he had vomited, and this time he did not return to the field. The next day, a local newspaper would run a picture of Stringer hunched over with his mouth wide open.

We spent Monday evening talking to various Minnesota coaches, including offensive line coach Mike Tice and his assistant, Dean Dalton. Among other things, we discussed Stringer and his difficulties that day, although no one had a clue what would happen Tuesday. After all, it's not unusual to see the heat affect players in training camp. We were told that Stringer was in the best shape of his career--at 336 pounds, he was 11 pounds lighter than a year ago--and that he customarily struggled at the start of every camp. Evidently, Stringer entered camp each year with a lot of excitement and emotion. According to coaches, Stringer getting sick at practice was not unlike a player getting sick before a big game. It was nerves as much as anything else.