# UK Football Mourns Death of Defensive Lineman Nic Smith **Published:** 2026-06-08T19:57:50.000Z **Source:** [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/08/nicholas-smith-2006-2026/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/uk-football-mourns-death-of-defensive-lineman-nic-smith LEXINGTON, Ky. — [The University of Kentucky announced the death of one of its football players](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/08/nicholas-smith-2006-2026/), [20-year-old defensive lineman Nic "Happy" Smith, a redshirt freshman from Loganville, Georgia.](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49003244/kentucky-dl-nic-smith-dies-age-20-no-foul-play-suspected) [UK Police were called to a report of a student found deceased in a residence hall at 10:03 a.m. Monday](https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/08/uk-football-player-dies/). [An initial investigation indicated that no foul play was involved](https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/08/uk-football-player-dies/), according to the university. [Smith was a sophomore in the Community Leadership and Development program in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/08/nicholas-smith-2006-2026/). [He redshirted last season after arriving as a three-star recruit](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49003244/kentucky-dl-nic-smith-dies-age-20-no-foul-play-suspected) and [played football and basketball at Walnut Grove High School in Loganville, Georgia.](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49003244/kentucky-dl-nic-smith-dies-age-20-no-foul-play-suspected) Head Coach Will Stein released a statement mourning the loss. "Today our hearts are broken," Stein said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Nic's family, friends, teammates and everyone who knew and loved him. This is a tremendous loss for our program and university community. We will continue to support one another and honor his memory." [According to his UK Athletics bio, Smith's nickname was "Big Happ," and his aspirations included starting a food business after his football career](https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/kentucky-football-player-nic-smith-passes-away/). The university extended condolences to his family, friends and teammates and noted that support resources are available through the Office for Student Success. ## Sources - [UK Athletics](https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/08/nicholas-smith-2006-2026/) - [ESPN article with additional details on Smith's death](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49003244/kentucky-dl-nic-smith-dies-age-20-no-foul-play-suspected) - [WKYT coverage of UK football player's death](https://www.wkyt.com/2026/06/08/uk-football-player-dies/) - [On3 article with biographical details](https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-wildcats/news/kentucky-football-player-nic-smith-passes-away/) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from UK Athletics, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/08/nicholas-smith-2006-2026/.