Former Florida Football Player Found Dead

Thursday, July 5th 2007, 4:45 pm

By: News On 6

PORT ORANGE, Fla. (AP) _ Former Florida and Bethune-Cookman football player Avery Atkins was found dead in his car in the garage of his aunt's Port Orange home Thursday in what police called a suspicious death.

A police spokesman says the 20-year-old player could not be revived by paramedics. Authorities would not release further details, and the spokesman did not elaborate on why police consider this suspicious. An autopsy will be performed.

Atkins was a freshman cornerback on the 2005 Gators and was projected to start on the 2006 squad, the eventual national champion. He was released from his scholarship last summer by Florida coach Urban Meyer because of a domestic battery charge against him.

He joined Bethune-Cookman as a transfer and played in three games in 2006 before being released from his scholarship.