Former Auburn defensive end and linebacker Quentin Groves has died.

The former All-SEC star was in Trinidad celebrating his daughter’s birthday at the time of his death. He died in his sleep. Details surrounding his death are not known at this time.

Groves, 32, is survived by his wife, Teska Baptiste, a former member of Auburn's track team, and his children: son Que’Mani Kassan Shiloh and daughter Que’Jaah.

"Great kid,” said Joe Whitt Sr., a longtime Auburn assistant. “Just a really good person. It is hard to believe he is gone."



Condolences and shock spread through social media throughout the morning Saturday.

“Obviously, he was a great athlete and great football player,” said Bret Eddins, a teammate in 2003. “He laughed a lot, had a lot of life in his eyes. I don’t remember being around Quentin when he wasn’t upbeat, hugging people. I think he carried that into his life. Just a great guy, a great teammate, a great family man who lived his life the right way.



“You would have a hard time finding anybody who would say anything bad about him. It’s just hard to believe."

Grove was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which is associated with a rapid heartbeat related to electrical impulses in the heart utilizing additional pathways.

“It’s an extra circuit in the heart, and it speeds up your heartbeat, it’s nothing too critical, but you have to take care of it,” Groves said at the time.

He underwent heart surgery for a procedure called an ablation. He was cleared by doctors to play, but many teams still questioned whether he was healthy enough to play.

He bounced around with seven NFL teams from 2008 through 2015, spending two seasons on a practice squad. He finished his NFL career with 175 tackles, two interceptions and 9.5 sacks.

He finished his Auburn career tied for the career sacks record at 26 as one of Auburn’s amazing defensive ends and linebackers in the mid-2000s. He set the single-game sack record at Auburn with four as a redshirt freshman in a game against Kentucky in 2004.

He was also part of the winningest senior class in Auburn history with 50 wins, which included a hand in the six straight victories against rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Editor emeritus Phillip Marshall and contributing columnist Rob Pate contributed to this report.