Bulking Up Poses Dangers to Young Football Players

Aug. 22, 2005 — -- The Denver coroner's office said today it will be another three to six weeks before toxicology test results reveal the cause of death for Thomas Herrion, the San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman who collapsed and died after an exhibition game Saturday.

Herrion, 23, weighed 310 pounds at the time of his death. It is still unknown if his weight -- which is about average for an NFL lineman -- played a role in his death, but the "bigger is better" mentality in football can endanger professional players and young people who try to emulate them.

About a half-hour away from Herrion's home stadium, the players on the Aragon High School football team in San Mateo, Calif., are not slowing their campaign of bulking up.

"I eat pasta, lasagna -- stuff like that. And I lift every day, every other day," said Dominique Williams, one of the players.

"I need to be heavy, like, need to be heavy because I go against a lot of big old linemen," said another player Mark Taualo.

Nine years ago, there were 179 professional players who weighed more than 300 pounds. As of last year, there were 339.

The National Football League today said there's no proof size played a role in Herrion's death, but that the league does monitor its larger players.

"We are ahead of the curve, I think, in understanding what that means in terms of how big they should be, what kinds of characteristics they should be able to display," said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue during a news conference.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Brad Culpepper says during his eight years in the NFL, he was under a lot of pressure to keep up his weight.

"You remember what you ate for Thanksgiving? Basically, you eat like that all the time. And then, before you go to bed, you have your wife or girlfriend run out to Wendy's and eat a little bit more," said Culpepper, who was a defensive tackle during his football career.

Culpepper is now a lawyer, and he is 80 pounds thinner.