Rex Culpepper was a quarterback and tight end for the Orange from 2016-20. His fiancee confirmed the tragic news on social media.
His fiancee Savanna put out an emotional post on social media:
"No one expects to meet the love of your life and lose them in only 6 short years after meeting. Rex didnt always believe in soulmates but towards the end he told me that he didnt realize what having a soulmate felt like until we felt like extensions of each other. And one thing about us is that we lived every single day like it was our last. We did every little thing that we set our minds to, between learning new skills and hobbies, and traveling to new places, there was never any free time with us and not a moment spent apart. I dont regret a single day in our 6 years. You made six years feel like a lifetime Rexy.Im sure that myself and all of you who cared about him will never truly be able to move on after knowing someone like him. You dont just meet people like Rex all the time. He was one in a billion. There wasnt one thing that man couldnt do. Lawyer, mechanic, musician, chef, athlete, nerd….lover. He became such a lover.
I will never take for granted how cool Rex was and how cool he eventually made me too. I will carry on his hobbies forever. I dont think this Rex shaped hole inside of me will ever be filled. But seeing how much everyone around him loved him so greatly, makes my heart full. So here are some parts of him that I would like to share with you, to hopefully make your heart full too.
Our story was a good one babe."
Culpepper was with the Orange for five years and four seasons (2016-20), appearing in total 30 games. A quarterback by trade, he was 139-of-266 for 1,546 yards in his career (52.3 percent). He threw 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The Orange were 10-3 in his freshman season (2017) as he attempted 75 passes. A clear team player, Culpepper switched to tight end in the 2018 season before moving back to quarterback in 2019. He played in 10 games in the COVID 2020 season, throwing for 1,028 yards.
He famously survived testicular cancer while a student-athlete at Syracuse, earning the first Jim DaRin Award for courage.
His father Brad spent nine years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears. He had 83 starts, 34.0 sacks and three fumble recoveries. He got to the playoffs three times.
Our own Tom Goslowski shares this
Goslowski, who has become synonymous with our Syracuse basketball coverage, has a son named Rex. Earlier today he shared the following message on social media - complete with a picture from the 2020 football season.
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