Spartan Stadium hosts celebration of late punter Mike Sadler

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Hundreds of people have turned out at Michigan State's Spartan Stadium to celebrate the life of former football player Mike Sadler, who died in a car crash in Wisconsin.

Michigan State admissions director Jim Cotter offered opening remarks Sunday, describing Sadler as witty and competitive - a "light that brightened the world."

Sadler and Nebraska punter Sam Foltz died in a July 23 crash after attending a kicking camp in Wisconsin. Sadler was a four-time academic All-American at Michigan State. He finished his college career after the 2014 season.

Sadler's former teammates, dressed in white shirts bearing Sadler's name and jersey No. 3, walked across Spartan Stadium's field to start the service, re-enacting a pregame ritual the Spartan football team partakes in before every home game.

"Mike was damn near a perfect human," the Detroit News quoted former MSU quarterback Connor Cook as saying at the service.

Sadler was the first four-time Academic All-American in Michigan State history including a two-time First-Team Academic All-America selection. He was planning to attend Stanford Law School in the fall.

The school has created a scholarship fund in Sadler's name, which will enable a football player to receive a scholarship each year in his honor. In lieu of flowers, his family says contributions may be made to the fund.