USC assistant coach Dave Nichol passes away at 45
USC assistant football coach Dave Nichol has died at the age of 45, the team announced in a statement on Friday.
Nichol served as USC's inside wide receivers coach and associate head coach for offense. He had recently left the program to attend to a "private medical matter."
"We are heartbroken and devastated," USC head coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement.
"Dave was such a tremendous human being and a fantastic football coach. He absolutely loved the game and constantly poured his heart and soul into his teams. He will be dearly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. We as a program look forward to playing and coaching for him as we move forward."
Nichol arrived at USC after spring the last two seasons as inside receivers coach under Mike Leach at Mississippi State.
"We are stunned by this," Leach said in a statement.
He served on Washington State's football staff from 2016-19, first as wide receivers coach and then coaching inside receivers for three years.
Prior to entering the Pac-12, Nichol was on the East Carolina football staff from 2012-15 as outside receivers coach and then as offensive coordinator and QBs coach. ECU posted top-five marks in passing and total offense in 2014.
Nichol was at Arizona from 2007-11 and at Texas Tech, his alma mater, in 2006. He began his coaching career there, as a student coach in 2000-01.
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