Max Tuerk (January 27, 1994 – June 20, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

. He was a first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-12 in 2014. Tuerk was selected in the third round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015 NFL Draft, 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park (Chicago), ...

by the San Diego Chargers. He spent his rookie year with the Chargers and split time in his second and final NFL season with the Chargers and the Arizona Cardinals.

Early years

A native of

Trabuco Canyon, California Trabuco Canyon (''Trabuco'', Spanish for "Blunderbuss") is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest. Trabuco ...

, Max Tuerk was the eldest of Greg and Valerie Tuerk's four children. He had a younger brother Drake, and two sisters, Natalie and Abby. His father played tight end for Brown University in the early 1980s. Max Tuerk attended

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

, where he was a two-way lineman. His team won the CIF Pac-5 title (i.e., the Southern California championship) and CIF Division I state title in 2011. (Division I was the second-highest of five divisions at the time.) He also participated in

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by

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, Tuerk was listed as the No. 7 offensive tackle prospect in his class.

College career

In his

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

year at USC, Tuerk emerged as the starting left offensive tackle for USC's final five regular season games of 2012 after serving as a backup earlier in the season. When he got his first start at

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, he became the first-ever USC true freshman to start at left tackle (and the first to start at tackle since

Winston Justice Winston Frederick Justice (born September 14, 1984) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (39th overall pick) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC. Cu ...

in the last 12 games of 2002). Tuerk was named Freshman All-American by ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...

''. He played in every game his first 3 seasons and was named to many all-star teams. Tuerk played all three interior lineman positions, but he was primarily a

. He was a team captain both his junior and senior years. Tuerk was considered one of the top centers in college football at the beginning of his senior year, but his season was cut short after five games when he tore an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

Professional career

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

Tuerk was unable to participate in the post-season draft combines because of his knee injury, except he was able to do the bench press test. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round, 66th overall, in the

. Tuerk made the Chargers' roster in 2016 but was inactive for all 16 regular-season games, although he did play during the pre-season. Tuerk was suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season after violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. After being reinstated from suspension on October 3, 2017, he was released by the Chargers. He was re-signed to the Chargers practice squad on October 26, 2017.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 6, 2017, Tuerk was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Chargers' practice squad. On December 24, 2017, Tuerk made his only appearance in a regular-season NFL game on one play in Week 16, as the Cardinals beat the New York Giants, 23–0. On April 12, 2018, Tuerk was released by the Cardinals.

Death

On June 20, 2020, Tuerk collapsed and died of an enlarged heart, an autopsy report revealed, while on a hike with his parents in the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by ...

. According to his family, Tuerk was struggling with mental illness during and after his pro football career. His mother Valerie Tuerk told the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' that the family had arranged to have his brain tissue sent to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ...

(CTE) Center. She said: "That was very important to us, because we feel that CTE probably had some impact on Max". A memorial service was held for Tuerk's friends and family on a beach near his home on Saturday, June 27, 2020, exactly one week after his death.

References

External links

NFL Combine profileUSC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuerk, Max 1994 births 2020 deaths American football offensive linemen Arizona Cardinals players Los Angeles Chargers players Players of American football from California San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Orange County, California USC Trojans football players Deaths from cardiomyopathy