Today, the Maryland Football family remembers @GopherFootball’s No. 74, Nick Connelly. pic.twitter.com/F9vTHFZ9Gf
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 22, 2018
In a movement of solidarity, the Maryland Terrapins joined Saturday’s opponent, Minnesota, in honoring a fallen member of the Golden Gophers. Maryland added a No. 74 decal to their helmets to honor former Minnesota right tackle Nick Connelly, who died Wednesday four months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Connelly, 22, retired from football in 2017 after starting five games that season due to concussions. In June, doctors diagnosed Connelly with Burkitt’s lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Unfortunately, Maryland is all too familiar with losing a member of their football team to an untimely death. Just this summer, Jordan McNair died two weeks after being hospitalized following him collapsing during a team workout.
Although the circumstances are very different between Connelly and McNair, both schools share an unfortunate connection.
Minnesota honored Connelly with the initials “NC” as well as wrist bands.
