MSU Football player shot to death.

The shooting death of a Midwestern State University football player is a "devastating blow" to the team and school, the coach said.

Michael Erokwu, an offensive tackle at MSU, died from gunshot wounds early Sunday morning after an argument at a Dallas gas station, police said. The disagreement involved damage to a car struck by Erokwu's car as it left a nearby nightclub, authorities said.

Erokwu, 22, would have been a senior this fall at MSU, an NCAA Division II school in Wichita Falls that competes in the Lone Star Conference. He was 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 365 pounds, according to the team's roster.

"This is going to be a devastating blow to these kids," MSU football Coach Bill Maskill told the Wichita Falls Times Record News for a story in Monday editions.

Several other players were in the area when the shooting happened, Maskill said.

Erokwu, who played at Tyler Junior College before transferring to Midwestern State, was from Nigeria and attended high school in Coppell, a Dallas suburb.

"He's going to be missed because of his friendship and the leadership he provided, and he did that as a part-time starter. As a person, he was very well accepted. As a player, he was still learning, and we were looking for big things from him this fall," Maskill said.

The player nicknamed "Big Mike" dreamed of playing in the NFL and was popular on campus.

"He was the definition of a teammate," quarterback Rahsaan Bell said. "He was inspirational. He was the type of teammate everyone would like to have."

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