In his first public comments since his son died, former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga expressed his gratitude for the outpouring of support toward his family.

Poppinga’s 17-year-old son, Julius, died Wednesday after suffering a severe asthma attack last week, causing him to be hospitalized.

While in the hospital, Julius suffered a collapsed lung that he did not recover from. 

After the news was confirmed in a social media post by Julius’ sister, Jasmine, the family has received condolences across social media. 

“I would like to thank EVERYONE for their unbelievably beautiful, sweet and loving compassion sent our way,” Brady Poppinga, 43, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Julius is a special soul who has touched so many lives. He is missed, but we KNOW that through the Savior, we will see him and be with him again. #famliesareforever.” 

While replying to a post from Liz Darger, a senior associate athletic director at BYU, Poppinga’s alma mater, he added: “Julius is on another level. It’s going to take me a while to catch him.”

Former teammates have also sent their well wishes, including former Packer Will Blackmon and former Jet and Patriot Matt Chatham. 

“Love you @BradyPoppinga. Sending love to you and your family,” Blackmon wrote on X. 

“I realize that mine is a mainly northeast & IA/SD audience, but for those who recall the good ol’ days of @FBbyFB, please send our friend @BradyPoppinga & his family right to the top of your prayer list,” Chatham wrote on X. 

Free agent linebacker Kyle Van Noy wrote in a post simply, “Love you bro” to Poppinga. 

Julius was a junior at Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and was a two-way football player who also played lacrosse. 

Westlake is scheduled to play on Friday against Thousand Oaks, and Westlake coach Mark Serve told the Los Angeles Times that Poppinga said Julius would have wanted the team to play the game. 

Poppinga was a fourth-round pick of the Packers in 2005 and spent six of his eight seasons in the NFL in Green Bay.

He won a Super Bowl with the team in 2011 and spent one season with both the Rams and Cowboys.