Last night, about 150 students and friends gathered for a somber vigil on the Ohio State Oval in front of the library to remember Kosta Karageorge, a walk-on defensive tackle for the Ohio State Buckeyes whose body was found yesterday in a dumpster. The 22-year-old, who was last seen on Wednesday, appeared to have killed himself, police said. A handgun was found near his body inside the dumpster. At the vigil there were stories, prayers and a performance of Carmen, Ohio, the school alma mater, by a few members of the marching band.

Kosta Karageorge, a defensive tackle on the Ohio State University football team, left his apartment early on Wednesday, just after he sent a cryptic text to his mother.

His family reported him missing and, throughout the holiday weekend, searchers combed Columbus looking for him .

Yesterday afternoon, a woman and her son were sifting through a dumpster near 6th and Courtland avenues when they found his body. The dumpster is around the corner from Karageorge�s apartment on E. 7th Avenue, close to the Short North Kroger.

The 22-year-old appeared to have killed himself, police said. A handgun was found near his body inside the dumpster.

The text he had sent on Wednesday said he was sorry, �if I am an embarrassment, but these concussions have my head all f----- up.�

>> Update: Woman who found Karageorge 'can't forget his face'



>> Video: Karageorge "bigger than football"

Last night, about 150 students and friends gathered for a somber vigil on the Ohio State Oval in front of the library. There were stories, prayers and a performance of Carmen, Ohio, the school alma mater, by a few members of the marching band.

Karageorge was remembered as a big guy with a heart to match who had a knack for raising the spirits of those who knew him.

�It�s devastating,� said Craig Thomas, 21, a senior who was on the OSU wrestling team with Karageorge and had known him since high school.

Karageorge was planning to rejoin the Ohio State wrestling team after the football season ended.

>> Related stories: Ohio State wrestlers remember Karageorge as �giant� | Football insider: Death of teammate will challenge Buckeyes� focus

The wrestling team practiced at 5 p.m. yesterday, about an hour after the news broke about the body being found. OSU wrestling coach Tom Ryan said the athletic department provided counselors for the team.

�There were a lot of tears,� he said. �There was a lot of crying. That says something because you know how men are. We don�t cry in front of anybody and don�t show weakness. But it was emotional.�

Ryan said many on the team wondered if they could have done anything to prevent the tragedy.

�I�ve been doing this for 22 years. This is as tough as it gets,� he said.

Columbus Police Sgt. Rich Weiner said investigators were able to identify Karageorge�s body in part by his tattoos.

Weiner said police did not know if the handgun found inside the dumpster belonged to Karageorge.

�We are working to confirm that,� Weiner said.

Karageorge�s mother, Susan, told police that her son had had several concussions and had a few spells of being extremely confused, according to a police report. But Ryan said Karageorge didn�t have any documented concussions as a wrestler.

Football players and those who were on OSU�s wrestling team with Karageorge were among those who attended the vigil last night on the Oval.

Johnni DiJulius, 22, a senior and a wrestling teammate, told those gathered that Karageorge was the guy he would call �when I was broken down by the side of the highway and needed help.�

Another wrestler, Josh Fox, 20, a junior, said he remembered how Karageorge was loyal to his friends. He said his fallen teammate also had an admirable penchant for never giving up. �He would be down in a match but always found a way to get back up.

�We need to pray for the family. It�s hard losing a son,� Fox added.

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics released a statement last evening saying the department was �shocked and saddened�� to learn of Karageorge�s death.

�Our thoughts and prayers are with the Karageorge family, and those who knew him, during this most difficult time,� the department said.

Karageorge graduated from Thomas Worthington High School, where he was undefeated as a heavyweight wrestler his senior year until losing in the second round of the state tournament. He went on to wrestle for three years as a Buckeye after starting his college career at the University of Oklahoma. He spent a redshirt year there before transferring to Ohio State.

Then this August, Karageorge joined the Ohio State football team as a walk-on. He did not play in a game for the Buckeyes; Ohio State corrected a previous report today that said he had played against Penn State this season.

Karageorge did not show up for football practice on Wednesday and then on Thursday, something he never would have done, his worried family and friends told investigators.

Karageorge would have been one of 24 seniors recognized at Ohio Stadium on Saturday before their final home game against Michigan.

Instead, after the other seniors were introduced, a picture of Karageorge was shown on the stadium�s video board, asking for help in finding him.

In postgame interviews on Saturday, his teammates expressed hope that he would be found safe.

Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer was asked yesterday on a teleconference concerning the Big Ten championship game about Karageorge. He said that he had talked with someone close to the family but that there were no updates.

About an hour later, the 911 call came.

Dispatch Reporter Jim Woods contributed to this story.

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