Westlake High Football Player, 17, Dies After Being Hospitalized

THOUSAND OAKS, CA — A 17-year-old Westlake High School football player and the son of a former NFL linebacker and Super Bowl champion died on Wednesday after being hospitalized last week.

Julius Poppinga, a senior at the Thousand Oaks high school, died on Wednesday, his family announced. Poppinga was hospitalized last week after a severe asthma attack and reportedly incurred a collapsed lung while hospitalized and never recovered, the Ventura County Star reported.

Poppinga, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker, is the son of former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga, who won a Super Bowl championship in 2011. Julius Poppinga played defensive end and offensive lineman at Westlake and also played on the school's lacrosse team.

"On behalf of the entire Westlake High School community, we send our deepest condolences to Julius’ family, friends, teammates, and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing and interacting with him," Westlake High School Principal Jason Branham said in an email sent out to the school community. "At Westlake and throughout CVUSD, one of our greatest strengths is our caring and close community, which makes it all the more important that we continue to support and be there for one another in this incomprehensible time of loss and sadness."

Westlake football coach Mark Serve told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that he visited Poppinga in the hospital in recent days. According to the report, Poppinga had not practiced since playing in a game on Aug. 18.

"He didn't want to talk about his health, he wanted to talk about football," Serve told The Times. "We talked about him getting back on the field. I was texting with him (Tuesday) night letting him know 'I love you.'"

In a long tribute posted on her Instagram account, Poppinga's sister wrote that "words can not even begin to describe the immense amount of love, kindness, compassion, humor, athleticism, knowledge, trustworthiness, consideration for others, sincerity, loyalty and friendly consideration Julius holds," Jasmine Poppinga wrote.

"He is the best younger brother I could ever ask for and the most amazing older brother to my other sisters. He always lights up a room with his loving and warm energy."

Jasmine Poppinga wrote in the tribute that she is comforted by knowing that her brother's soul is in the loving hands of God.

"The way life works through god and guardian angels is sometimes not the outcome we want or would never expect. I don't have the immediate answers as to why something so sudden would happen like this and I don't know if I will ever have the exact answer. I trust in god, the universe and all the higher powers that Julius will be taken care of and will be here to watch and comfort over my family."