The University of Kentucky has released a statement reporting that freshman player Nicholas “Happy” Smith has died at the young age of 20.
The redshirt defensive lineman, a native of Augusta, Georgia, who grew up in Loganville, died on Monday, school officials confirmed.
“Today our hearts are broken. Our thoughts and prayers are with Nic’s family, friends, teammates, and everyone who knew and loved him,” head coach Will Stein said. “This is a tremendous loss for our program and university community. We will continue to support one another and honor his memory.”
According to reports, the young player was found dead at around 10 a.m. in his dorm room. No cause of death has yet been released, but school officials say no foul play is suspected.
Smith was majoring in community leadership and development and has said that his dream job after playing in the NFL would be to start a food business.
He often went by the nickname “Happy,” but he said he preferred to be called “Big Hap,” according to his school player bio.
Smith had offers to play football for Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern before committing to the Kentucky Wildcats.
The young man had six siblings and is survived by all of them as well as his parents.
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