On Friday evening, All-American football center Frank Cornish died in sleep at his home in Southlake, Texas.
Cornish played for UCLA for four years from 1986 to 1989. He started all 35 games of his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
He earned first-team All-American honors in 1989 and was a second-team selection in 1988.
He was a sixth-round draft pick of the NFL by the San Diego Chargers. Cornish enjoyed a six-season tenure in the league.
He played with the Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles.
He was with Dallas for the 1992 and 1993 seasons. In that time, Cornish helped the Dallas Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 1993 and 1994.
“The Bruin family sends our deepest, heartfelt sympathy to the Cornish family,” coach Rick Neuheisel said.
Neuheisel was an assistant coach for much of Cornish’s career.
“I was a coach when he was a player and he was just a gifted guy,” Neuheisel said.
“Frank was a great guy in the locker room and a huge personality and a fun guy to be around.”
Cornish is survived by his wife and five children.
Compiled by Sara Salam from Bruin wire services.