Some 26 hours after teammate Eraste Autin died last Wednesday, the University of Florida's freshman football players returned to the same practice field to participate in the same drills that caused their teammate to collapse a week earlier.

	Autin

Everything about the 50-minute workout -- from the 10-minute warm-up to the four agility stations to the final 200-yard sprint -- was identical. Only Autin, who had been comatose and in critical condition since collapsing, was missing.

It was the second time in less than six months that a freshman football player from the state of Florida died as a result of offseason conditioning. In February, Florida State's DeVaughn Darling collapsed and died after an early-morning workout.

While heat stroke was listed as the official cause of Autin's death, no "definite morphological cause" could be determined in the case of Darling. The medical examiner who conducted the autopsy, though, noted that Darling had a rare sickle cell trait that may have played a role in his death.

Regardless, the similarities in the deaths of the two 18-year-olds, both of whom were seemingly well conditioned, has led many to wonder not only how this happened, but what can be done to keep it from recurring.

	“	When FSU had difficulties, we evaluated what we do. When Oklahoma State had that plane crash, we evaluated how we fly. You've got to learn. Tragically, this time, it's not someone else's tragedy we'll be learning from. ”
		— Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley

Already, Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley has ordered a full review of the school's practice regimen. Florida State plans on evaluating its practice procedures following the 2001 season.

"When FSU had difficulties, we evaluated what we do. When Oklahoma State had that plane crash, we evaluated how we fly. You've got to learn," Foley said. "Tragically, this time, it's not someone else's tragedy we'll be learning from."

Autin had just completed his 10th offseason workout. There were, as always, four athletic trainers and three strength and conditioning coaches present during the workout when he passed out on the walk back to the Florida locker room. At the time of Autin's collapse, about 5 p.m. on July 19, the temperature was 88 degrees with 72-percent humidity. The heat index was 102. Hot, yes, but not unbearable considering it is late-July in Florida. Certainly, it was similar to what Autin experienced as a high school All-American in Lafayette, La.

After being rushed to Florida's Shands Hospital, Autin reportedly had a body temperature of 108 degrees.

"The things that's sad, the thing that's frustrating is that on a whole, heat illness is something that's entirely preventable," said Dr. Gary Green, an internist at UCLA and member of the NCAA's Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports Committee. "By doing common sense things like drinking water, weighing athletes before and after practice, this is a preventable complication."

Specific practice changes have yet to be made at Florida or Florida State. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer is among those who plans on thoroughly evaluating his team's practice procedures in the upcoming weeks.

"Anytime something like that happens, you have to take a second to step back and check what you're doing," Beamer said. "I feel like we are as safe as we can be at practice, but you want to make absolutely sure."

At the very least, Miami head coach Larry Coker said the deaths of Darling and Autin will add awareness to the dangers of heat stroke and heat illness.

"It's something you would probably address anyway, but maybe somewhat superficially," Coker said. "I mean, you'd say, 'Let's make sure that we're drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated and all those things,' but now, they're going to listen. It's that sensitive of an issue."

Autin is the 18th high school or college football player to die since 1995 because of heat stroke, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

The Center's Survey of Football Injury, updated annually, indicates the number of heat stroke deaths has been on the increase recently. According to data collected, there were just five deaths attributed to heat stroke between 1931-1959. From 1960 to 2000, there were 103, including four each in 1978, 1995, 1998 and 2000.

The reason for the increase? The big bodies of today's football players, said sports performance consultant Dave Ellis. Ellis, formerly the Director of Performance Nutrition at Nebraska, believes that because most football players don't go both ways as frequently as they did in the past, they accumulate more muscle mass than cardiovascular endurance.

	“	We just went back and feel like, after talking with Eraste's father (Dr. David Autin), it was just one of those things that was out of the blue. There wasn't anything we could have done to prevent it. ”
		— Florida strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass

"And in two-a-days or offseason workouts, when they take more and more reps, it makes them that much more vulnerable," Ellis said. "People forget these workouts aren't a football game setting. You can take the most vicious, two-minute drill in a game and it's nothing compared to what someone endures during a two-a-day practice."

Jeff Potteiger, the director the Health and Performance Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth, agrees. And the increased use of creatine, protein and other supplements by players, he said, also contributes to both an increase in size and the rate of dehydration.

Autin, 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, reportedly was not taking any supplements when he collapsed. The same was reported about the 6-2, 220-pound Darling.

"People that are bigger seem to generate more heat and have to have more water based on the volume of their body size," Potteiger said. "If a receiver and a lineman have a difference of 100 pounds and are drinking the same amount of water during practice, chances are the receiver would be fine and the lineman would be dehydrated."

The high-profile deaths of Darling and Autin have prompted some to question why these summer workouts are needed at all. The explanation is a simple one: to help prepare freshman for the surprises that await them the first day of fall practice.

"This situation makes people question some things," said Rob Glass, Florida's strength and conditioning coordinator. "But believe me, if we didn't do any preparation and all they did was hit the field Aug. 8, you would be asking for a lot more problems."

Said Ellis: "There's a gap between what we can do legally in summer conditioning drills and what they have to endure Day 1 in practice. And that gap is where you find the vulnerability for something catastrophic to happen."

In addition, Ellis said, freshman football players are unfamiliar with pushing their bodies to compete at such an elite level. Because of that and a desire to look tough to their teammates and coaches, they are unwilling to notify anyone when something is bothering them physically.

"A young athlete will likely hide problems because they don't want to be perceived as some who can't endure," Ellis said. "This is their first chance to impress their new coaches and earn a spot on the two-deep."

So what else can be done? Ellis would like to see player physicals become more thorough and frequent. In addition, he said, it should be stressed to parents and student-athletes the importance of being forthright with all medical history. Green believes offseason workouts could use greater supervision and planning. And Potteiger thinks the deaths of Autin and Darling could reopen the argument over freshman eligibility.

Still, despite all these preventions, the fact remains that it's a physical sport and nothing will make it 100-percent safe.

"I've sat down and rehashed the thing over and over and looked at everything that took place," Glass said. "We just went back and feel like, after talking with Eraste's father (Dr. David Autin), it was just one of those things that was out of the blue. There wasn't anything we could have done to prevent it."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.