CU Press Release:
LAKEWOOD - Former University of Colorado offensive lineman Ryan Johanningmeier passed away here Monday from yet to be determined medical reasons; he was 38.
The coroner said it would be six-to-eight weeks to determine the exact cause of his death, which is believed to have occurred just before he was leaving for work Monday morning.
One of the most versatile linemen in CU history, he started games at offensive tackle, guard and center in earning four letters from 1996-99. In 1998, he actually started at all three of those positions over the course of the season, and finished up his career as the Buffaloes left guard. As a senior when he was a team co-captain, he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league coaches and preseason Playboy All-American honors. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection his junior year.
He played in 44 games during his Colorado career, including 35 starts; he even saw time at tight end as a redshirt freshman when injuries at the position forced the coaches to move him there the last half of the season. An All-American and All-Colorado performer at Centaurus High School in Louisville, Johanningmeier was a member of Rick Neuheisel's first recruiting class at Colorado in the winter of 1995, never wavering from a commitment he had made to previous coach Bill McCartney to attend CU before the latter's surprise retirement.
"Ryan was one of those players who never gave it anything less than his best effort, in practice, in games and off the field," Neuheisel said from Arizona. "A lot of players would have been apprehensive about moving around from position to position as much as he did, but he embraced it with a positive attitude and played all of them well. For him to pass at such a young age is nothing short of tragic."
He played his final season under Gary Barnett after Neuheisel left for Washington, and was a member of four bowl champion teams in his career: the 1996 Cotton, the 1996 Holiday, the 1998 Aloha and the 1999 Insight.com.
A 2000 graduate with a degree in Business (Management Systems), he was a second-team Academic All-Big 12 team member as a senior, a two-time member of CU's "Academic Starters" team and was also on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.
While not drafted, Johanningmeier did sign as a free agent with the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons and spent the 2000 and 2001 season on the payroll with the club. Neck and back injuries cut short a promising professional career, and he had been working in private business in the Denver metro area since his retirement from the game; included during that time was a stint as a spotter for CU football games on KOA-Radio.
He was born January 22, 1977 in Fort Collins, and football was in his blood. His father, B.J., played football at Colorado State and in the NFL for Green Bay and Denver. He is survived by his parents; B.J., and his mother, Sandy Curfman, and stepparents Jim Curfman and Debby Johanningmeier.
A public memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the East Stadium Club on the Byron R. White Club Level at Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder.
LAKEWOOD - Former University of Colorado offensive lineman Ryan Johanningmeier passed away here Monday from yet to be determined medical reasons; he was 38.
The coroner said it would be six-to-eight weeks to determine the exact cause of his death, which is believed to have occurred just before he was leaving for work Monday morning.
One of the most versatile linemen in CU history, he started games at offensive tackle, guard and center in earning four letters from 1996-99. In 1998, he actually started at all three of those positions over the course of the season, and finished up his career as the Buffaloes left guard. As a senior when he was a team co-captain, he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the league coaches and preseason Playboy All-American honors. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection his junior year.
He played in 44 games during his Colorado career, including 35 starts; he even saw time at tight end as a redshirt freshman when injuries at the position forced the coaches to move him there the last half of the season. An All-American and All-Colorado performer at Centaurus High School in Louisville, Johanningmeier was a member of Rick Neuheisel's first recruiting class at Colorado in the winter of 1995, never wavering from a commitment he had made to previous coach Bill McCartney to attend CU before the latter's surprise retirement.
"Ryan was one of those players who never gave it anything less than his best effort, in practice, in games and off the field," Neuheisel said from Arizona. "A lot of players would have been apprehensive about moving around from position to position as much as he did, but he embraced it with a positive attitude and played all of them well. For him to pass at such a young age is nothing short of tragic."
He played his final season under Gary Barnett after Neuheisel left for Washington, and was a member of four bowl champion teams in his career: the 1996 Cotton, the 1996 Holiday, the 1998 Aloha and the 1999 Insight.com.
A 2000 graduate with a degree in Business (Management Systems), he was a second-team Academic All-Big 12 team member as a senior, a two-time member of CU's "Academic Starters" team and was also on the Big 12 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.
While not drafted, Johanningmeier did sign as a free agent with the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons and spent the 2000 and 2001 season on the payroll with the club. Neck and back injuries cut short a promising professional career, and he had been working in private business in the Denver metro area since his retirement from the game; included during that time was a stint as a spotter for CU football games on KOA-Radio.
He was born January 22, 1977 in Fort Collins, and football was in his blood. His father, B.J., played football at Colorado State and in the NFL for Green Bay and Denver. He is survived by his parents; B.J., and his mother, Sandy Curfman, and stepparents Jim Curfman and Debby Johanningmeier.
A public memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, at the East Stadium Club on the Byron R. White Club Level at Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder.
