Bodycam footage from day of Ryan Mallett's death released by police
Police in Florida have released a partial recording of the body camera footage from the scene where former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett died in an apparent drowning accident earlier this week.
Deputies responded to an incident at the beach after 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, where they found a group of people trying to return to the shore from a sandbar.
One of those people went under during the attempt and was not breathing when lifeguards pulled him from the water.
Life-saving methods were performed but were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at the emergency room. The 35-year-old man was later identified as Ryan Mallett, considered by many to be the greatest quarterback in Arkansas history.
"In response to dozens of media inquiries from across the U.S., we wanted to report that Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigators are continuing to gather information in the drowning of an Arkansas tourist Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico," the Sheriff's Office said.
"Investigators say Mallett began struggling while attempting to swim to a second sandbar about 150 feet offshore of the beach near Gulf Shores Drive in Destin around 2:15 p.m.," the sheriff added.
Related: Bobby Petrino reacts after death of Ryan Mallett
After news of Mallett's death was made public, speculation around the incident centered around possible rip currents in the area at the time, but local reports now seem to confirm there were no such currents at that point and did not play any role in the tragedy.
"Despite widespread media misinformation, yellow beach safety flags were flying at the time and there were no indications of any 'riptides'," the sheriff said.
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks