Former TCU Cornerback Jeff Gladney Passes Away

On Monday morning, the former first-round draft pick was killed in a fatal car accident.
© Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Former TCU football cornerback Jeff Gladney was killed in a fatal car accident near downtown Dallas early on Monday, May 30.

Gladney was on the roster at TCU for five years and was a first-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the 2020 season with the Minnesota Vikings and had recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He was 25 years old.

According to the Dallas County Sheriff's department, the crash occurred on the Woodall Rogers access road at 2:28 a.m. The collision involved two vehicles. When officers arrived, they found an overturned vehicle with two passengers, one male and one female. Both were confirmed dead at the scene. The sheriff’s department will not release the names of the deceased until autopsies are completed. Passengers in the other vehicle were not injured.

The Cardinals, however, confirmed Gladney’s death on Monday:

TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati had this to say:

Former TCU teammate and current Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor tweeted this:

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Gladney played in 50 games while at TCU, including 42 starts. He recorded 146 tackles during his career as a Frog, 106 of those as solo tackles. He had 1.5 sacks and five interceptions. Frogs fans will recall his 2017 interception at Texas Tech that he took 94 yards for a pick-six.

He received many honors at TCU, including Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2017). Second Team All-Big 12 (2018), First Team All-Big 12 (2019), Second Team All American (Phil Steele and FWAA, 2019), in addition to receiving invites to the 2020 Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.

He was a three-star recruit out of New Boston High School in New Boston, Texas. He chose TCU over North Texas and Rice.

After the 2020 NFL season, the Vikings released Gladney in August 2021 after he was indicted on a charge of assault involving a former girlfriend in April 2021. In March of this year, a jury found him not guilty, allowing him to sign with the Cardinals.

Gladney leaves behind a young son.


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Barry Lewis
BARRY LEWIS

Barry is the publisher/managing editor for KillerFrogs.com. He has been a Horned Frog since the Jim Wacker era and loves covering all of TCU's sports.