Former LSU football defensive lineman Rahim Alem dies at 36

BATON ROUGE — Former LSU football defensive lineman Rahim Alem has died, an LSU spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. He was 36 years old.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

Alem played in 44 games and started in 13 across five seasons with LSU. He was an AP first team All-Defense selection in 2008, making 34 total tackles and recording 4.5 sacks. He was a backup defensive end during LSU's national championship-winning campaign in 2007.

After his time with LSU, the New Orleans native signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals but never appeared in a game.

Alem attended St. Augustine High School. He also played at LSU with his brother Chad Jones, a safety for the Tigers for three seasons before he was picked in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Jones also played baseball for LSU for one season, winning a national championship in 2009.

Alem's father, Al Jones, was also a defensive lineman at Tulane from 1976-78. Alem's given name was Alfred Marvin Jones Jr., but he changed his name to Rahim Alem in 2006.

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Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley