EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern football coach Randy Walker's sudden death left the school stunned Friday, with players praising the 52-year-old as an inspirational leader whose influence reached far beyond the field.

"I'll never forget coach Walker," kicker Joel Howells said at a somber news conference on campus. "He's had a huge impact on my life the last four or five years. If you really knew him, I don't know how you wouldn't remember him."

Walker died Thursday of an apparent heart attack, after feeling chest pains around 10 p.m. at his suburban Chicago home, said Mike Wolf, the school's assistant athletic director for media services.

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