He was a big man with a big heart, but family, friends and the South Dakota State University football team is mourning the loss of it's third former player over the past six years.

Gabe Koenigsfeld of Marble Rock, Iowa was a starting defensive end for the JackRabbits in 2005.

He died Tuesday in a construction accident after a dirt wall caved in on him while working on a basement in Dakota Dunes. Co-workers were able to dig him out, but couldn't revive him.

Koenigsfeld's death is hitting a lot of people hard, especially family and friends, including his former teammates.
On the field, number 91 was ferocious. 

"Gabe was an animal.  He was so big, so strong and I looked at him like he was Superman," former teammate Dan Dykhouse said.

Dykhouse played with Koenigsfeld for four years at SDSU. He says while Koenigsfeld was an intimidating player on the field at 6'4" and weighing 255 pounds, he was a gentle giant off the field. 

"He always laughed, he had this big smile, everybody loved him," Dykhouse said.

Dykhouse says even though Koenigsfeld was a three-year starter and was being looked at by the pros, he treated everyone with respect.

"He was nice to the seniors, he was nice to the freshman, he was nice to everybody.  It didn't matter who you were or how much you played or how much you didn't play," Dykhouse said.

Koenigsfeld's untimely and tragic death follows two other SDSU players who died unexpectedly from that same football team.

Marty Kranz was killed in a tractor accident and Donnie Parsons died of a severe asthma attack. Dykhouse knew them all and can't believe death has tackled another one of his former teammates. 

"It stops you in your tracks, it's kind of one of those things.  It was hard the first time and it was hard the second time and then you get that phone call again and it's another one of your teammates, that had so much going for him, and so much going on in his life.  It's just really sad," Dykhouse said.

Gabe was 27 and had been living in Sioux Falls.  According to one of his friends, he and his wife Stephanie are expecting their first child.