A Mobile high school football coach is remembering a former player as a natural leader and mentor to teammates after the 19-year-old was shot to death near Dauphin Island Parkway in late June.
Williamson head coach Dedrick Sumpter recalled Dave Populus as an undersized but talented middle linebacker who anchored the defense as a three-year starter, often arriving hours before summer practices to prepare and continuing to show up on the sidelines even after graduating. Sumpter described Populus as someone teammates naturally listened to and respected, saying the young man had a way of connecting with players that went beyond football.
A Life Cut Short
After graduating, Populus had spent time at a college in Selma before returning home to Mobile. He had recently become a father and was working at a local fast-food restaurant to help support his son, according to his former coach. Just months before his death, Populus had stopped by to visit Sumpter, continuing a relationship that had lasted well beyond his playing days.
Populus was killed on June 20 in an area near Webb Avenue that Mobile police have identified as a hot spot for violent crime. An 18-year-old has been charged with murder in the case, with prosecutors alleging the shooting occurred during a dice game and was not the first time the accused had shot Populus. The defendant remains held at the Mobile County Metro Jail on a $200,000 bond.
Sumpter, who grew up near the same part of Mobile where Populus died, said neither his students nor the broader community tend to express open fear despite the ongoing violence in the area, describing it instead as something residents have had to adapt to over time. He said awareness of the danger doesn’t necessarily translate into daily fear for those who live there.
Populus’s teammates planned to honor him even as they competed in a summer 7-on-7 tournament following his funeral. Sumpter said he hopes to see Populus’s number permanently retired by the football program as a lasting tribute to a player he described as a leader both on and off the field, whose life was cut short by the kind of violence that has repeatedly touched the neighborhood.