Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. He was a true friend and a great brother to anyone he knew. He was a walking example of how to care for people, a rare soul.. Hoffpauir was a standout safety who made All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2014. View profile . He always was looking out for the person he could tell was not accepted. He was a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Lake Charles, LA. If it was not for his close friend and former football teammate at Stanford, Christian McCaffery, Zach may have never learned the real source for all of his mental health issues. After eighth grade, he decided he wanted to attend public school and went to Peorias Centennial High School. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease found posthumously in the brains of football players. It changed his life, Doug Hoffpauir said. A standout on Stanford's football and baseball teams, Hoffpauir helped the Cardinal win . The neurologist who diagnosed Zach with Lyme Disease prescribed him medication to help him stay balanced. "He loved his head coach, Ed McCaffrey. Zach also set an important precedent by talking about his own struggles with mental health and encouraging others to seek help in their darkest hours. (Photo by Mary Grace Grabill/Cronkite News). In a practice his sophomore year, Taylor saw Zach take a hit so big his helmet rotated 90 degrees across his face. Shook up about this, Ertz tweeted. Doug Hoffpauir said Dubose called him and said Zach was an angel and he saved (his) life.. His athletic talent and intense loyalty were both on display in a chippy series against rival Cal in April 2015. We always talked about living simply when we got older: Hunting, fishing, riding bulls, RVing across the country with @beaukitson (One day we'll do that). Today at No. And we connect in weaknesses.. College Sports | 2023 www.azcentral.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. Never miss an issue. 17 UCLA, My AP WBB ballot: Stanford-UCLA starts Cardinals huge week. That he didnt have enough love for himself.. *** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference. Zach Hoffpauir, 26, died in his sleep, according to a release from the athletic department. . Cronkite News, the news division of Arizona PBS, is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Hoffpauir left Stanford in 2015 after being taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 22nd round of the MLB draft and played a minor league season that summer. My testosterone levels were almost gone. Fiorentina captain Davide Astori, a defender who has also been capped by Italy 14 times, has died, the club EDMONTON A Edmonton homeless man whose spontaneous piano performance was viewed on theinternetby millions ofpeople has died. No mortal can make the statement that CTE is the primary issue if youre just dealing with emotional problems, because those are so common in society, Cantu said. So, when Ed McCaffery, the former NFL player and Christians father, took the head coaching position for the University of Northern Colorado in February 2020, Christian recommended his father add Zach to the coaching staff. Like so many others across this country and around the world, Zach was furloughed due to the pandemic and forced to return to Arizona. But he knew something was wrong.. He was our he was kinda like our heartbeat honestly, he was the personality of the team.. You could just feel the charisma coming off of him, Justin Sanchez said. Its so sad.. I love you and your family and I promise we'll make you proud. It was the first time in a long time that he felt purpose. Athletically, Zachs freshman year in Palo Alto was not as prolific as his freshman year at Centennial. We are more similar than we are different, said Zach. He was 26. Hoffpauir, who was from Glendale, Arizona, was close friends with McCaffreys son, Christian, whos now an All-Pro running back for the Carolina Panthers, when they both attended Stanford. Zach Hoffpauir was a multi-sport athlete at Centennial High School in Peoria, Arizona before becoming an all-conference defensive back and outfielder for Stanford University. Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. Zach Hoffpauir, left, and Hillary Hoffpauir pose for a siblings photo. Zach Hoffpauir (above in 2014), who played a combined seven seasons for the Cardinal on both the football field and baseball diamond, passed away yesterday at just 26 years old. zachhoff10. Theres no way to specify when the disease started. Yesterday Heaven gained an angel, and I lost one of my best friends in the world. Former Centennial, Stanford multi-sport athlete Zach Hoffpauir dies at 26, Zach Hoffpauir remembered for compassion, friendship during powerful celebration of life, Family donates former Centennial, Stanford athlete Zach Hoffpauir's brain for CTE research, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "He loved his head coach, Ed McCaffrey. He began working locally, working with high school football teams in the Peoria and Phoenix area, including his old stomping ground, Centennial. Family. It allowed him to focus on good things in his life, even if those things were having a family or air conditioning. The Mystic Krewe of Apollo Baton Rouge celebrated its 41st annual ball Jan. 21 at the Raising Cane's River Center. He was born to Shannon Hoffpauir, Doug Hoffpauir, According to AZCentral, Hoffpauir was staying with his dad in Arizona during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. This eventually led him to getting a coaching job with the University of Northern Colorado, coaching the safeties. McCaffrey, 23, on Friday posted a picture of Hoffpauir on Instagram with the message, "Yesterday, Heaven gained an angel, and I lost one of my best friends in the world. Surviving the attempt led Zach to realize he needed help. "For a report to come out, 'Just another athlete who died of a drug overdose,' that doesn't tell the story," Shannon says in the 30-minute documentary, "Zach Hoffpauir: The Real Story," that will first air on Sports360AZ.com at 5 p.m. Monday. He didn't play football at Stanford in 2015 and returned for his senior season in 2016. He wanted to help the players succeed on the field, at home, in class and in the community. Watch over us. Support the Hotline: Receive three months of unlimited access for just 99 cents. The totality of the damage brought Zachs football career to an end. But by the time he was 26, after several concussions at Stanford, his frontal lobe was full of the lesions that are the hallmark of CTE. Hoffpauir had stage II the same level found in the brain of Junior Seau after the NFL Hall of Famer took his own life, at the age of 43, with a gunshot to the chest. At Stanford, his three-year totals were 11 homers, 58 RBIs and a career .295 batting average. Zach treated his cousins like siblings and friends like family. He would talk to anyone, she said. Whatever Zach Hoffpauir touched, he excelled in. Former Stanford, Cal MBB coach Mike Montgomery says schools are not keeping up with college changes Their brains should be pristine. Zach could light up a room like it was nothing, and had this amazing, unique personality. He made a difference in the life of every person he met.. Northern Colorado assistant coach Zach Hoffpauir has died, the program has announced. Glendale native Zach Hoffpauir, who played baseball and football at Stanford University after a brilliant athletic career at Centennial High School, died in his sleep May 15. He was at the same time: the big brother you always wanted, the life coach you never knew you needed and the friend you knew would always have your back.. On stage at Christs Church of the Valley after Zachs death, Tyler Thorne urged those in attendance to live as Zach did to be completely present for the needs of others. He was a walking example of how to care for people, a rare soul. But Hoffpauirs brain was not like that of a normal 20-something. At his first soccer game, Zach played like a man among kids, said Doug Hoffpauir. Then, as Shannon says in the documentary, "He didn't sleep one night and he got a Percocet from a friend and it was laced with Fentanyl and he died instantly.". Zach had previously detailed some of his experiences with depression, which can be a symptom of chronic traumatic encephalopathy the degenerative brain disease linked to head trauma in football and other sports. At Stanford, Zach thrived on the football and baseball fields. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Joyec Ann Hoffpauir (Rosenberg, Texas), born in Houston, Texas, who passed away on February 17, 2023, at the age of 78, leaving to mourn family and friends. ", Yesterday Heaven gained an angel, and I lost one of my best friends in the world. Hoffpauir was a multi-sport athlete at Centennial High School and excelled at a variety of sports, including football and basketball. My cortisol was through the roof.. Manoj, who has worked as a freelance videographer for Riccio Productions, ZAP Entertainment and Harvard University, is working in the Phoenix Sports Bureau. He made 137 more in high school and was in on hundreds of others playing running back and wide receiver. That speaking to Zach was like speaking to an adult.. ", More:Family donates former Centennial, Stanford athlete Zach Hoffpauir's brain for CTE research. Stanford safety Zach Hoffpauir (10) had 99 tackles in his Stanford career. He couldnt fight this alone. Zach Hoffpauir, Shannon's son, lived life to the fullest in his 26 years, seemingly never taking a day off from injecting joy or perspective into someone else's life. And same for the people who went through it with him. He hit .455 his senior year in high school in 2012 with five home runs and 22 RBIs. The father of Zach Hoffpauir, the former Stanford football player and Northern Colorado football coach who died last week at the age of 26, said the family has donated Hoffpauir's brain to . He was good friend's with McCaffrey's son, Christian, a running back for the Carolina Panthers. I have nothing else to give.. At the time of his death, he was staying with his father in Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic. Centennial remembers football standout Zach Hoffpauir, a life taken too soon. Then, COVID came. Three Zach Hoffpauir accomplished a great deal, but what he did was not who he was. May 22, 2020. He was recently hired as an assistant coach for Northern Colorado as his minor league baseball career was officially . All rights reserved. He had a gregarious personality and we all loved him. You have permission to edit this article. Doug Hoffpauir said in the days after his sons death that he was certain Zach did not die by suicide. The next promising chapter in his life ended suddenly May 15, when Zachary Thomas Hoffpauir, a Glendale native who became a West Valley sports legend, died in his sleep. Hoffpauir was 26 at the time of his passing this past spring, just a few . The Coyotes went 11-2, losing to Scottsdale Chaparral 31-30 in the state semifinals. The legacy of Zach Hoffpauir lives on forever at Centennial high school. The disease carries three classic features the CTE triad according to Dr. Robert Cantu of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. Hoffpauir's father, though, stressed to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News that his son did not commit suicide. He taught me how to enjoy life. Although he had a plethora of offers from Division I colleges for baseball or football, Zach wanted to play both. The medical examiners report cited fentanyl toxicity as Hoffpauirs cause of death, according to the KPNX report, noting that it was ruled an accident. His junior year, Hoffpauir earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention as a safety in football and as a right fielder in baseball. The diagnosis helps explain why Zachs mood and behavior changed so much once he left college. Mike Nowels is an assistant sports editor for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. We talked about the little things in life and how to never take for granted a loved one. In a revealing documentary on Hoffpauirs life released this week by Sports360AZ, his mother Shannon said he got the pill from a friend. Zach Hoffpauir, a two-sport standout at Stanford who earned All-Pac 12 honors as a safety in football and played two seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league system, has died at age 26 . Zach also began seeing mental health professionals. He taught me how to not give a fuck about what people think about me, and to do it my way. A recently-hired University of Northern Colorado assistant football coach died Thursday. he calls my dad and says Im going to fly him out here, hes going to see Dr. Prusmack whos the chief neurosurgeon for the Denver Broncos. I sit down with him for 15 minutes and he tells me I have Lyme Disease. Zach didnt shy away from showing his imperfections and struggles. District co-Most Valuable Players: Holden Butler, senior, Nederland and Angel Valencia, sophomore, Port Neches . (Photo by Mary Grace Grabill/Cronkite News), That morning (May 13) I went to go fishing, said Doug in a Sports360AZ documentary, Zach Hoffpauir: The Real Story. I got up at 3, we talk a little bit. "He's someone every time I call him, he was totally present," McCaffrey says in the anniversary dinner speech that is in the documentary. Zach Ryan SimonGUEYDAN - It's with great sadness and heavy hearts that the family of Zach Ryan Simon announces his passing from this life on November 17, 2012. The family does not expect results from the local autopsy for two or three months and the CTE study will likely take a year or more. Gratitude became an important part of Zachs healing process. Zach Hoffpauir was 26 years old. It has been 296 days since the Stanford football team opened fall camp to begin . On a podcast hosted by former Arizona State football player Jordan Simone, Zach Hoffpaiur said he had suffered five or six concussions in his football career and had attempted suicide last year. 3) Psychological issues like depression and anxiety. Hes like my heartbeat.. The documentary that dives into the life of the former Peoria Centennial High School and Stanford football and baseball standout will air 12 times on Bally Sports Arizona, starting Tuesday. Football, baseball, basketball and track, it didnt matter. The passing of this extraordinary talent was devastating to his wide circle. /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. Im done. He made me better.. Peter Jelovic, Centennial Highs athletic director, said the school was not yet planning a memorial. Two weeks earlier, Hoffpauir passed away from an accidental overdose at age 26. Zach Hoffpauir, the former Centennial High School football and baseball star who went on to play both sports at Stanford before being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, died of a drug overdose . All he ever wanted to do was make people proud, and he did, Hillary Hoffpauir said. Every time Centennial players step on the field, they will walk by the No. January 28, 2016: OF Zach Hoffpauir retired. Thats the last thing he said. "He was so excited to get back to Northern Colorado and try to influence lives beyond football," his father told the Arizona Republic. After the attempt, he began finding healing through a combination of medication, therapy, and self-reflection. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert. Share Obituary. Zach showed me the way when I got to college. Doug Hoffpauir said the opportunity provided a new spark in Zachs life and thanked McCaffrey for taking a chance on his son. Stanford women: Brink, Jones power No. Now all of a sudden, sports became a business, Doug said in the Sports360AZ documentary. But within a year, he began to feel the itch for football again. He clicked with junior safety Jamond Dubose on day one, talking for two hours about life and their similar experiences. Zach was known for encouraging friends to keep pursuing their faith and shooting the breeze with family friends. You can see the history of people like Zach, going slowly downhill. At times, you just didnt know what you could do to help him. Shannon doesn't want her son's death to go in vain as just another sad statistic. It made so much sense. "It was riddled with CTE lesions.". (Photo by Mary Grace Grabill/Cronkite News). Sharon "Teda" Hoffpauir A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2022, 11 a.m., at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church for Sharon "Teda" Hoffpauir, 66, who died Thursday, June 23, 2022 in Crowley, La, surrounded by her loving family. Hoffpauir is hoping to regain his starting position at . Prior to high school, Zach played one year of eight-on-eight tackle football. Zach Hoffpauir, a former football and baseball player at Stanford, died in May of an accidental drug overdose, according to a reportciting county medical examiner records in his native Arizona. He would always come back to Centennial to help out the Coyotes. That was his heart.. He was like a brother to our boys and recently found his calling as our safeties coach https://t.co/eNYbQB30fv. The loss of identity was hard enough, but Zach also endured his parents divorce, his grandmothers lung cancer diagnosis, and a breakup in short succession after he left Stanford. 3 Cardinal past No. His heart ached to care for them. BRAVES -- Purchased contracts of P Zach Schreiber from Triple-A Richmond, P Charlie Morton from Double-A Mississippi and RHP Jairo Cuevas from Single-A Myrtle Beach. Itll be hard, but his life on Earth wasnt easy, either, and he did more good for others than many ever will. (Courtesy of the Hoffpauir family), Zach Hoffpauir signs his autograph on the Stanford Cardinals team poster. You are just minutes from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary is the first choice for many families when they are seeking funeral services in Boulder. Brink, Jump lead No. Visitation will be observed on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 from 11:00 am until the time of services, at First Presbyterian Church, 1130 Johnston Street in Lafayette. , A post shared by Christian McCaffrey (@christianmccaffrey) on May 15, 2020 at 8:07am PDT. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.comor 602-316-8827. Zachs father, Doug Hoffpauir, said Zach spent his life taking time to connect with others. *** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716. 1) Cognitive impairment, such as memory loss and difficulty with problem solving. My sincere condolences to Zachs family and his many friends.. Zachs funeral, appropriately physically distant of course, is planned for Saturday, May 30. When the stories came out in mid-May of last year, the glaring headlines -- another athlete who died of a drug overdose -- Shannon Hoffpauir knew there was more to the story. He spent one year in their organization (Class-A), then returned to Stanford for the 2016 season to complete his football career. Following his death, Hoffpauirs family donated his brain for concussion research. He also starred as an outfielder on Stanfords baseball team and was drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2015. Christian McCaffrey was his best friend. Recently, it was reported that Hoffpauir had CTE, and was diagnosed with the same level of CTE that former USC Trojans and San . A memorial gathering for Carl will be held Monday, July 25, 2022, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM at St Bernard Memorial Funeral Home, 701 W. Virtue St., Chalmette, LA 70043, followed by a memorial service from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Doug Hoffpauir did not provide a cause of death. Doug said the university reached out the day after news broke about his son's death to . JASON HOFFPAUIR Cedar Rapids Jason Clyde Hoffpauir, 38, of Cedar Rapids, died Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, at Mercy Medical Center. msn back to msn home sports Skip To Navigation He detailed how in spring 2019 he attempted to take his life by overdosing on Xanax and Benadryl. May 15, 2020. They cheered for her the entire match. Copyright the Concussion Legacy Foundation. The University of Northern Colorado, where Hoffpauir was hired in February as an assistant football coach in charge of the safeties, said Hoffpauir died in his sleep Thursday. Zach had been staying with his father in the Valley during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. He hit .258 with 3 home runs in 62 at-bats in Class A ball that summer, then returned to Stanford to resume his football career in 2016. 2023 www.azcentral.com. 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir and P . Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. He began writing whenever he felt anxious, listing whatever he felt grateful for in that moment to ground him. The struggle didnt break him, it strengthened him, Burkholder said. His death sent shockwaves into the Peoria, Stanford, and broader football community. I hate that its because of this, but maybe some positive can come of it. Zach brought a sparkle to the world that was unlike anything else. The rookie coach made an early impact on his players. 2023 Cronkite News. His same ability to connect with people that made him such an outstanding teammate made him an instant fit in coaching. Zach showed me the way when I got to college. So I went to sleep, then I woke up and I just had this weird feeling. To mourn his loss, Huffy leaves behind his loving wife, Janice Smith Hoffpauir; his daughters, Janna Perret (Steve), Jodi Hoffpauir (John Rahaim), and Jeana Anderson (Chris); his grandchildren, Sara, Garrett . He had to medically retire due to concussions prior to Stanfords bowl game in 2016. He told Shaw how he had identified the most important quality in any great coach was not discipline, communication, or any tactical trait. ", McCaffrey family hit hard by Hoffpauir's death, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? Find out how your news organization can use Cronkite News content. Once again, the sleepless nights began. Hoffpauir was a safety for four seasons on the Cardinal football team, winning three Pac-12 titles and two Rose Bowls. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Former Stanford safety Zach Hoffpauir's brain is being donated to Boston University. Zach Hoffpauir died on Thursday, May 14, 2020, at the age of 26. So will his legacy at Centennial. Doug Hoffpauir wants the world to know that even now, 15 months later, with the CTE diagnosis confirmed, he isnt mad. His new role at Northern Colorado included recruiting Arizona. They offered him four amazing years., Im not anti-football, he said. (Courtesy of the Hoffpauir family), Zach Hoffpauir wears sunglasses and a lei at his graduation from Stanford. 0. MIAMI William Henry Trotter Bush, a wealthy investor and the brother and uncle of presidents, has died. People sometimes assume they are violent, superficial and emotionally immature. The world lost a legendary friend and family member, said Cara Burkholder, longtime friend. Find an Obituary. Reverend Zach Sasser, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lafayette, will officiate. It was a stripping of identity for me, said Zach about the retirement on the 2019 podcast. I would hope that seeing (Zachs) number, sharing those stories, keeping a record here on campus allows us the opportunity to not forget, said Adam Larsen, the athletic director at Centennial. Photos courtesy Stanford University. Rare two-sport star Zach Hoffpauir dies at 26. To what degree was CTE involved in Zachs deteriorating emotional and psychological state?