The University of Connecticut and the family of Eli Thomas announced Monday the 22-year-old junior linebacker suffered a stroke last Wednesday.
"Thank you all for your love and well wishes for Eli," his mother, Mary Beth Turner, said in a statement, per Alex Putterman of the Hartford Courant. "To say we are stunned by this turn of events is an understatement! A strong, healthy, 22-year old man having a stroke is not anything we anticipated. However, Eli will fight back as he has with every challenge that has come his way with 'Eli Style.