Former Minnesota offensive lineman Nick Connelly died Wednesday, four months after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Connelly, 22, started the first five games of 2017 for the Gophers before retiring from football midway through the season because of concussion issues.
Doctors in June diagnosed Connelly with Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Chuck Connelly, Nick's father, said via Twitter that his son's chemotherapy treatments were yielding positive results until recently.
"Heaven needed a right tackle and Nick Connelly got the call," his father wrote in a message posted online Thursday afternoon.