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Former Stanford player Zach Hoffpauir dies

Stanford safety Zach Hoffpauir (10) Justin Reid (8) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in Tucson, Ariz. Stanford defeated Arizona 34-10. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Stanford safety Zach Hoffpauir (10) had 99 tackles in his Stanford career. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Former Stanford safety Zach Hoffpauir died Thursday. He was 26.

Hoffpauir was with his father in Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic. His father Doug did not give a reason for his son’s death to the Arizona Republic.

Stanford tweeted a tribute to Hoffpauir Friday morning.

Hoffpauir was good friends with former Stanford running back and current Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey posted a tribute to Hoffpauir to Instagram.

Hoffpauir played at Stanford from 2012-16. He recorded 99 total tackles and had nine passes defensed in his career. His most productive season came as a junior in 2014 when he had 43 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. He earned an honorable mention on the Pac-12’s all-conference team.

A multisport athlete through high school and college, Hoffpauir played both baseball and football at Stanford. He spent the 2015 football season playing minor league baseball after he was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2015 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. After playing baseball for a season he returned for his senior football season in 2016 before he medically retired due to injuries.

Hoffpauir was set to coach the 2020 season for Christian’s father Ed McCaffrey at Northern Colorado. He was hired as the team’s safeties coach after coaching high school football in 2019. Ed McCaffrey, the former Broncos and 49ers wide receiver, was hired at Northern Colorado after serving as the head coach of Valor Christian High School for two seasons.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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