Former NFL player and Appalachian State safety Matt Stevens died March 20 at the age of 51. Early in his football career, Stevens started out as a two-time All-American at Appalachian State, helping his team reach the Southern Conference Championship in 1995.

Former New England Patriot Matt Stevens, who won the 2001 Super Bowl, died at age 51 on Thursday, March 20 in North Carolina, according to an obituary.

In total, he appeared in 15 of 16 regular season games plus all three playoff contests. Stevens finished that year with 49 combined tackles and, more importantly, his first Super Bowl ring: he helped the Patriots beat the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.