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. 3 Cardinal past No. Low 42F. It made so much sense. Get Fishing Supplies listings phone numbers, driving directions, business addresses, maps and more. 418 likes. "He's like my heartbeat.". Hoffpauir suffered after his years of playing football. He was like a brother to our boys and recently found his calling as our safeties coach https://t.co/eNYbQB30fv. christianmccaffrey. But within a year, he began to feel the itch for football again. David Fernandez, Centennial High Schools school resource officer from the Peoria Police Department, tweeted a fond memory: A few years ago, Zach Hoffpauir was back at Centennial mentoringI was standing nearby watching when a young student walked up and said, Hey, whos that?, I replied, Thats who you want to grow up to be.. The news broke last Thursday via an NBC affiliate in Phoenix. msn back to msn home sports Skip To Navigation I could only speculate that started four or five years earlier.. Rare two-sport star Zach Hoffpauir dies at 26, By Tom Scanlon, Glendale Star Managing Editor. The family donated his brain to Boston University's Chronic Traumatic EncephalopathyCenter that studies long-term consequences of repetitive head trauma. Doug Hoffpauir said Dubose called him and said Zach was an angel and he saved (his) life.. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. But even the most gifted focus on just one sport in high school. *** 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. I was able to see, even in his brokenness, he was such an influence on people, Shannon Hoffpauir said. Every time Centennial players step on the field, they will walk by the No. Yesterday Heaven gained an angel, and I lost one of my best friends in the world. So much so, that he decided to pack up his bags and head back to Stanford to complete his senior year and have one more run with Stanford. It allowed him to focus on good things in his life, even if those things were having a family or air conditioning. Ben Copeland, another of Hoffpauirs many friends, may have summed it up best: There will never be another Zach Hoffpauir and thats okay. More than 800 guests attended Bal Masque XLI, which carried out the theme . His father said Zach would have loved the celebration. I had a teacher come up and tell me once, said Taylor. I would tell him that hes the love of my life and he was enough, just him, Shannon Hoffpauir said. He was a natural at just about any sport he played.. 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. He persisted and persevered.. The brain disease is linked to repeated head trauma in football. We talked about the little things in life and how to never take for granted a loved one. 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. Id never seen him happier than in the last couple months.. At his memorial, Zachs pastor said, Everything Zach did was loud and it was passionate.. Former Stanford football player Zach Hoffpauir was posthumously diagnosed with CTE at the age of 26, a physician who researches the disease said on Tuesday . Zach acknowledged that he felt the weight of those who were rooting for him, those that dreamed so highly for him, and could not bear the thought of letting them down. View all 23 comments. All rights reserved. He began working locally, working with high school football teams in the Peoria and Phoenix area, including his old stomping ground, Centennial. He worked hard, boosted morale and was incredibly kind, said Casey Sawyer, marketing manager for the Portland, Oregon, suburb-located Hillsboro Hops. A University of Northern Colorado press release stated Hoffpauir made a strong, positive impact in his short time there. He was the personality of the school, too, said Diane Dunham, a history teacher at Centennial. Because if he had to, he would challenge you and he would step up and say, This is not right.. zachhoff10. 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. A year ago, the college sports world was stunned after former Stanford defensive back Zach Hoffpauir died suddenly at the young age of 26. Related Articles The medical examiners report cited fentanyl toxicity as Hoffpauirs cause of death, according to the KPNX report, noting that it was ruled an accident. That was his heart.. The diagnosis helps explain why Zachs mood and behavior changed so much once he left college. While Zachs official cause of death is an accidental overdose, Zachs mother, Shannon, feels that even this label is disingenuous. 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. Zach went 6-12 with three home runs in the series, including an infamous post-homer stare down with a Cal pitcher who had been taunting Stanford. My cortisol was through the roof.. Fill in some information about your loved one, and we'll generate some text that you can use as a starting point for your online memorial. Following tragedies, Central High School finds comfort in its football community. He broke the mold and spent his life helping others do the same no matter what kind of mold they were supposed to fit into. 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. With the right diagnosis and the right medication, Zach was on his comeback trail. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert. He was a walking example of how to care for people, a rare soul.. They offered him four amazing years., Im not anti-football, he said. After his suicide attempt, Zach began practicing gratitude in a more intentional way. Months later, Brain Bank researchers informed the Hoffpauirs that Zach had Stage 2 (of 4) CTE. He couldnt fight this alone. Christian McCaffrey, a running back for the Carolina Panthers, paid tribute . He returned and won back his starting position at free safety, and had a strong start to the season before two concussions in back-to-back games ended his season and ultimately, his football career. New UNC head football coach Ed McCaffrey hired Zach in February to coach safeties. After the attempt, he began finding healing through a combination of medication, therapy, and self-reflection. Surrounded by her beloved family, Joyce Ann Hoffpauir, 78, passed away Friday, February 17, 2023. Its always surprising when you see multiple lesions in the brain of someone so young, McKee said. The father said at the time that the Hoffpauir family had donated Zachs brain to concussion research. Stanford ex-player Zach Hoffpauir, who died, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, Former Stanford player Zach Hoffpauir, who died accidentally, diagnosed with startling CTE levels, Pac-12 recruiting: Huge weekend for Cal while Oregon and L.A. schools also welcome 2024 recruits, Mailbag: Kliavkoffs risky strategy with Pac-12 media rights, Pac-12 basketball Hot Seat breakdown: Decisions loom as March arrives, Best of the West: Our predictions for the mens WCC tournament, Predictions for Pac-12 media rights, network partners and expansion. Praying for the Hoffpauir family during this time.. (Courtesy of Shannon Hoffpauir), Zach Hoffpauir, left, poses for a photo with his cousin, Morgan Williams, at the family's 2019 Christmas Celebration. Advertisement. The night before his death, his mother said he went to bed after taking Percocet, an oxycodone-acetaminophen pain killer that Hoffpaiur acquired from a friend, just to get his first full night of sleep in weeks. While his mental state never got down to where it was before, it was enough to keep him up night after night. Following Zachs death, Doug was contacted about donating Zachs brain to the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank for CTE research. It was May 14, 2020. Zach Hoffpauir, a two-sport standout at Stanford who earned All-Pac 12 honours as a safety in football and played two seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league system, has died at age 26. 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.. McCaffrey's father, former Denver Broncos wide receiver and current first-year Northern Colorado head coach Ed McCaffrey, also was shaken by Hoffpauir's death. 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. That one percocet, meant to be his release, turned out to be his end. I got to know him after the freshmen football season was over, cause he also started on the varsity basketball team at point guard as a freshman. Their brains should be pristine. Zach Hoffpauir Death. And we connect in weaknesses.. Zach's family . Zach Hoffpauir, the University of Northern Colorado safeties coach and former two-sport Stanford standout, was anything but a stereotype. He was 79. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.comor 602-316-8827. At Stanford, Hoffpauir played safety in football and was a star baseball player. This narrowed his choice to two colleges: Arizona State and Stanford. 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. CLF is a Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit Organization, In a September 2019 interview on Untold,, in a 2021 documentary from Sports360AZ about Zachs life. Family and friends can send flowers and condolences in memory of the loved one. We also knew that this research could help others, and that is exactly what Zach would want.. Search by Name. He was a true friend and a great brother to anyone he knew. Normally, Doug says Zach would be able to rebound quickly from things. He has roots in Colorado and Arizona and joined the Bay Area News Group in March 2019. 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). RELATED STORY The Chelan County Natural Resource Department But I never knew how much I needed every word. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. I never doubted for a second whether or not he had my back. They passed by the No. For most his life, Zach Hoffpauir was guided forward by sports. January 28, 2016: OF Zach Hoffpauir retired. 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. Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 646th pick of the 22nd round, Zach split time between Missoula, Montana, and Hillsboro, Oregon. 197,654 likes. Hoffpauir played two seasons of minor league ball, in 2015 and 2018, hitting .224 with three homers and nine RBIs in 107 at-bats in rookie and Class-A ball.