Mark Stoops Saddened By Death Of Former Kentucky Football Player
UNLV offensive lineman Ben Christman was found dead in his apartment on Tuesday at the age of 21. Christman’s death has understandably rocked the college football world, with the team’s coach Dan Mullen referring to Christman’s death as heart breaking.
Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, who once coached Christman for two seasons in Lexington, shared a similar sentiment.
“We are all at a loss right now hearing about the passing of Ben Christman,” Stoops said on social media.
“He was a player who came in every day and went to work. He was tough as nails on the field but off the field he was a gentle and kind soul. He was loved by all of us and our prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
“Since the day Ben set foot on our campus a month ago, he made the Rebels a better program. Ben was an easy choice for our Leadership Committee as he had earned the immediate respect, admiration and friendship of all his teammates,” said UNLV coach Dan Mullen, who was able to flip Christman to his program in the transfer portal this offseason.
Christman entered college football as a four-star recruit out of high school. He received offers from many of the top schools in the sport as a senior, from Ohio State to Alabama, Georgia to LSU and even Notre Dame.
Christman began his career close to home at Ohio State before transferring to Kentucky to play for Stoops in his last two seasons. He played all 12 games for Kentucky this season, a major accomplishment after missing his first season at OSU due to injury.
“UNLV Athletics was notified earlier today of the passing of a student-athlete who was a member of the football team at their off-campus residence,” the school said on Tuesday.
“This is an extremely difficult day for our athletics department and the university community. Out of respect for the student’s family and pending formal notification of next of kin by the Clark County Coroner’s Office, the university has no further information to share at this time.”
UNLV says that an official cause of death for Christman will eventually be revealed, but the news of his passing is unfortunately affecting multiple programs and communities around the sport.
