Drew Wahlroos, a former University of Colorado linebacker who went on to play in the NFL, died over the weekend from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest — the second well-known Buff to kill himself in the last year.

A representative of the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office said Wahlroos died on Saturday at the age of 37, and that his death has been ruled a suicide.

Originally from Poway, Calif., Wahlroos played for the Buffs from 1999 to 2002. After graduating, he briefly played in Europe before signing with the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, appearing in 21 games over two seasons, primarily on special teams.

Resources for those in crisis If facing an emergency: Call 911 Mental Health Partners: To request services, 303-443-8500; walk-in center, 3180 Airport Road, Boulder, 303-447-1665 COACT Colorado’s crisis hotline: 1-844-493-8255 (1-884-493-TALK) or, text “TALK” to 38255 National hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-784-2433

Former CU guard Matt McChesney was a couple of years younger than Wahlroos, but got to play with him both as a Buff and for a short time when they were both on the Rams.

“We spent every day together when we were the only two Buffs on the team,” McChesney said. “He took me under his wing and treated me like a brother.”

Former CU Buff and NFL defensive lineman Justin Bannan was a year older than Wahlroos, but the two lived together for most of their time at CU and remained close even after their playing days.

“He’s my best friend,” Bannan said. “He exemplified what it meant to be a Buffalo. It’s been tough.”

Other former CU players weighed on social media about Wahlroos’ death this week, including teammate Andy Peeke, who during his first training camp roomed with Wahlroos.

“It was interesting, because all these guys are coming from different places and you had a lot of guys puffing their chest out, talking about how big and strong and good they were in high school,” Peeke told the Daily Camera on Thursday. “But Drew wasn’t doing any of those things. He was always easygoing, worked hard, and he was always there.”

Added Bannan, “He was one of the toughest, baddest players I ever played with. He was humble, he worked his butt off. He was the true definition of what a teammate should be. He was tough, man. He would play every snap he could.”

Wahlroos simply was, as McChesney said, “A bad (expletive) man.”

“We used to call him ‘The Outlaw’ all the time,” McChesney said. “He never backed down from a locker room fight.”

One of those fights didn’t even take place in a locker room. In 2001, a then 21-year-old Wahlroos said five Nebraska fans attacked him outside a Boulder strip club following a Buffs win over the Huskers earlier in the day.

Wahlroos declined to press charges and actually hadn’t planned to talk to police until a nurse at the hospital called them.

“It was nothing, really, ” Wahlroos told the Daily Camera at the time. “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

‘It just happened again’

Wahlroos’ death comes less than a year after the suicide of former Buffs running back Rashaan Salaam.

“I was just at Rashaan’s funeral,” McChesney said. “And it just happened again. We lost another great man, and it hurts.”

McChesney said he had lost touch with Wahlroos and wasn’t sure what he had been up to in recent years.

“It’s hard keeping in touch the way you want to,” McChesney said. “You see each other at events and in California when the Buffs play and stuff. But I wish I could have seen him more, and I regret that.”

As a result, McChesney said he didn’t know what might have moved Wahlroos to take his own life.

“I don’t know what Drew was thinking about when this happened, but I know that it’s scary to think about,” McChesney said. “I don’t know why it’s so common. I think the world just mounts up on them.”

Wahlroos death inevitably will draw comparisons to San Diego Chargers legend Junior Seau, another former NFL linebacker who died after shooting himself in the chest — a move many believe was designed to preserve his brain for research.

It was later discovered Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE. Such a diagnosis can only be made by examining a person’s brain postmortem.

While his brain was not tested, Salaam’s family also expressed concerns that he had CTE.

CTE has been linked to memory loss, depression, aggression and suicidal behavior, and a recent study found that 99 percent of players who donated their brains for research had CTE.

It was not known if Wahlroos’ brain will be tested for CTE.

Peeke said it was heartbreaking to see multiple players die, and said he hopes that any teammates going through something similar don’t wait to talk to someone.

“I know that if Drew had reached out to me or any of us and said, ‘Hey Peeke, I’m struggling,’ I would have said, ‘What do I need to do?'” Peeke said. “You want to be there for your teammates, but it’s hard to let all your teammates know you are there for them all the time. But it just really hurts when you hear about a former teammate, a former Buffalo taking their life.”

‘What a big heart he had’

Peeke choked up when talking about the moment he received a message saying Wahlroos had died, and had to take a two-hour walk to wrap his head around the news.

“I couldn’t stop staring at my phone,” Peeke said. “So many years have passed, you forget how important those guys were at that time of your life, and you remember how important they are to you still today. Those first weeks at CU, being roommates with Drew and growing up with him, they were impressionable years for us. It really just breaks my heart.”

Bannan said Wahlroos was working as a bartender in California and was planning to visit Colorado for a skiing trip this year — the first time he would have been back in the state since leaving.

The two recently had begun talking more after a technological breakthrough.

“We discovered Facetime,” Bannan said. “So we’ve been Facetiming each other and I just laugh because if you knew Drew and how he told a story and how he explains things, you just sit there and laugh because he’s one of the funniest dudes ever.”

Bannan said that he wants people to know about the person Wahlroos was off the field.

“He was a great football player, but an even better person,” Bannan said. “I think what just sticks out to me in thinking about Drew is what a great man he was, what a big heart he had, what a nice guy he was.

“I’m truly going to miss my brother.”

Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars