Kentucky Wildcats football player Nic Smith has died at the age of 20, the school announced on Monday.
Smith, whose nickname was “Big Happ,” was a redshirt freshman defensive lineman last season. He was a sophomore in the Community Leadership and Development program in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Kentucky and had dreams of playing in the NFL after college.
“Today our hearts are broken. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nic’s family, friends, teammates and everyone who knew and loved him. This is a tremendous loss for our program and university community. We will continue to support one another and honor his memory,” football coach Will Stein said in a statement.
Smith was listed as 6-foot-5 and 282 pounds. He played basketball and football at Walnut Grove High School in Georgia prior to joining Kentucky for college.
Smith described himself as “happy, friendly and nice,” according to his bio on the Kentucky website. That description coincides with his “Big Happ” nickname. Smith did not record any statistics while with Kentucky. The school asked that people respect the family’s privacy in response to the death.
