Former Syracuse quarterback Rex Culpepper has died at 28 after suffering injuries in a dirt bike accident in Georgia over the weekend.
His fiancée, Savanna Morgan, confirmed the devastating news Monday with an emotional Instagram tribute — less than a month after the couple announced their engagement.
“No one expects to meet the love of your life and lose them in only 6 short years after meeting,” Morgan wrote. She said Culpepper once doubted the idea of soulmates, but later told her he finally understood it — that they felt like “extensions of each other.”
Morgan described their relationship as nonstop and joy-filled, saying they lived “every single day like it was our last,” always learning, traveling, trying new hobbies, and rarely spending time apart.
“You made six years feel like a lifetime Rexy,” she wrote.
Culpepper spent four seasons at Syracuse from 2017 through 2020, mostly serving as a backup quarterback. He also saw time at tight end and appeared in 30 games during his college career.
As a quarterback, he played in 16 games and threw for 1,546 yards with 11 touchdowns.
His story inspired many beyond football. In March 2018, Culpepper was diagnosed with testicular cancer and went through extensive chemotherapy. Just months later, he returned to the field for Syracuse’s spring game and helped lead a late touchdown drive — a moment that became part of his legacy with the program.
He was declared cancer-free in June 2018.
Former Syracuse teammate Eric Dungey shared his own tribute online, calling Culpepper a fearless guy who truly lived life to the fullest.
Culpepper came from a football family. He was the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Brad Culpepper, and his younger brother Judge played college football as well, suiting up at Penn State and Toledo.
In her post, Morgan said the loss feels impossible to process and described Culpepper as someone rare — a person who could do anything and somehow be everything to everyone.
“You don’t just meet people like Rex all the time,” she wrote. “He was one in a billion.”
