Former Stanford multi-sport start Zach Hoffpauir died on Thursday morning with no cause of death. He was 26.
The news hit Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and his family hard.
Hoffpauir, a former teammate of McCaffrey's at Stanford, was with his father, Doug, in Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic. His father confirmed the death to the Arizona Republic but did not provide a cause of death.
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.