Here is some sad news about former Arkansas linebacker Hal McAfee. This is the article that will appear in Monday’s edition of The Morning News.

Former Arkansas linebacker Hal McAfee, who was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 1976 Cotton Bowl, died Saturday.

McAfee suffered a massive heart attack while exercising on a treadmill in Arkadelphia, where he lived, Razorback Foundation President Harold Horton said Sunday.

He was an overachiever. He played above and beyond his ability because he wasn’t extremely talented, said Horton, who coached McAfee as Arkansas’ linebackers coach in the early 1970s. He was smart, he was tough and he would get to the football.

McAfee played for the Razorbacks from 1973-75, and he served as a team captain in his final season. He was named to the All-Southwest Conference first team in 1975, and he capped the season by leading Arkansas to a 31-10 win over Georgia in the 1976 Cotton Bowl.

McAfee, who was believed to be in his early 50s when he died, was later named to the Cotton Bowl Hall of Heroes for the 1970s. He also went 36-18 as the head football coach at Tarleton (Texas) State from 1988-92.

He was what you want a Razorback to be, Horton said. “He played hard to the ball and played hard to make a tackle.