Ex-College Football Player Dies At 24

Former Wisconsin tight end Jack Pugh, who stepped away from football after speaking publicly about mental health battles, has died, the university announced Tuesday. He was 24.

Pugh, an Ohio native, played for the Badgers from 2021 to 2022. The school did not announce a cause of death.

“The Wisconsin Athletics family is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Pugh. Jack was a positive light and brought a genuine spirit to our football program. More than that, he cared about people and was loved by his teammates and staff,” Wisconsin said in a statement.

The Wisconsin football community is mourning the loss of former tight end Jack Pugh…

He passed away at 24, such a young age

Pugh was a highly-regarded recruit who joined the Badgers in 2021

Though his playing career was cut short by injuries, leading to his medical retirement… pic.twitter.com/3abkWTeyhH

— MAGA SPIRITS 🦅 (@Meta_BTC_) April 1, 2026

“Jack proudly earned his degree from UW-Madison in 2025 and will forever be remembered and loved.”

Pugh redshirted as a freshman and later made his Wisconsin debut against Minnesota. In December 2023, he said he was walking away from the sport, citing mental health struggles.

Screenshot-Instagram

“I made a decision before the football season to medically retire, that I haven’t yet formally announced. My physical health wasn’t near perfect, but my mental health was the reason I decided to hang it up,” Pugh wrote in an Instagram post at the time.

“Over years of prolonged depression and substance abuse, I decided I deserved a better life and to finally find happiness. In no way was football the root of these problems, but everything in my life had distracted me for so long to the point I never had prioritized my mental health all along, digging a deeper darker hole.”

News of Pugh’s death drew reactions from former teammates. New York Jets running back Braelon Allen, who overlapped with Pugh at Wisconsin, posted a short message on X: “Protect your mental,” his post X.

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