The mother of a former Illini football player who died of cardiac arrest on the practice field has started a fund to buy athletic shoes for financially struggling families. Shawn Afryl died of sudden cardiac arrest in July 2014 at Winona State University in Minnesota. The 22-year-old was completing his college football career after graduating from Illinois. After he death , his mother, Sue Afryl of Skokie, started the No. 56 Shawn Patrick Afryl Shoe Fund in his memory. Shawn Afryl's Niles West football coach gave him a pair of cleats when he couldn't afford his own. He wore them for four years and earned a scholarship to Illinois. The fund is at Evanston Community Foundation. It's $4,700 short of the $10,000 needed for perpetual status.
Mother of late Illini player starts charity in his honor
