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Promising walk-on dies in tragic rock climbing accident.

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Twenty-year-old Jonathan Michael "Sully" Sullivan, a native of Birmingham, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 while rock climbing with friends in Virginia. He was a student at Shelton State Community College in Tuscalooosa and was planning to attend the University of Alabama, where he was invited as a walk-on to the Crimson Tide football team. He was a 2008 graduate of Spain Park High School in Hoover. A gifted athlete and musician, Jonathan sang in the Spain Park High School Show Choir, lettered in track, and played on the defensive line for the Jaguars under head football coach John Grass. He helped lead the Jaguars to the state championship game in 2007 and graduated with a scholarship to play football at The University of North Alabama. At UNA, he played football as a defensive lineman under head coaches Mark Hudspeth in 2008 and Terry Bowden in 2009. Jonathan helped lead his football team to a 2009 National Championship.