RIP Zach Hemmila

chiefzona · Post by **chiefzona** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:38 am

The starting center was found dead in his room this morning. Details have not been released. Heart breaking news. Thoughts and prayer to his family, team, and the staff.

Post by **UAdevil** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:05 am

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:05 am

Just awful. No one can imagine how awful this is for the family until it happens to them. Team and staff must also be devastated.

Siempre Verde · Post by **Siempre Verde** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:06 am

I can't even... Good lord, how tragic.

gronk4heisman · Post by **gronk4heisman** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:15 am

As a father of three boys, news like this just puts in perspective how meaningless something like Arizona Football is in the big picture. Horrible horrible news.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:20 am

Oh my God.

I am literally sitting here at work speechless. Jesus Christ, that's horrible for everyone who knew him.

RIP. So much more to be said, but can't say it right now. Sh*t.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:23 am

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:25 am

OMG, gut wrenching news. So sad. The family and his team family has to be devastated. My heart just goes out to all of those that were close to him and loved him. Just incredibly sad

TuiTouchdown · Post by **TuiTouchdown** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:28 am

Holy shit. Devastating news. And I'm absolutely not talking about football here. This is real life sad.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:31 am

God damn it! RIP Zach.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:37 am

Holy crap. WTF?

So incredibly sad.

OSUCat · Post by **OSUCat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:40 am

Rest In Peace Zach Hemmila.

I can't even imagine. So sad.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 10:50 am

Awful. Terrible for any parent to have to go through.

RIP Zach

cordera89 · Post by **cordera89** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:04 am

RIP Zach Hemmila. You will be miss.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:06 am

Even after having a few hours to digest this I'm still in shock. So damn young...

Tempedevil · Post by **Tempedevil** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:13 am

That is terrible, can't believe it would happen to someone so young.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:20 am

Awful news, nothing else at the moment, just awful news

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:43 am

This is terrible news. I'm speechless, such a young man to die. RIP.

ghostwhitehorse · Post by **ghostwhitehorse** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:48 am

Hell. . .

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 11:48 am

I posted in the other thread, but there really aren't enough ways to express sorrow over this.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:This is incredibly sad. RIP.

It's unbelievable.

EVCat · Post by **EVCat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 12:16 pm

Terrible.

Please, folks...not that it appears needed, but save the "we are cursed" football related stuff on this one. Couldn't give a fuck about impact to our team performance. Just horrible

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 12:35 pm

EVCat wrote:Terrible.

Please, folks...not that it appears needed, but save the "we are cursed" football related stuff on this one. Couldn't give a fuck about impact to our team performance. Just horrible

I would hope so too. If there's any situation that screams real life tragedy that is much bigger than football, it's this.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:00 pm

Horrifying. Coach is so clearly devastated.

dirtbags · Post by **dirtbags** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:37 pm

wow, i can't remember ever seeing RR and GB so shaken. it's always devastating to lose a member of the wildcat fam. sending my condolences and positive thoughts to Zach's family, friends, and teammates.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 1:43 pm

Tough to watch them talk about Zach. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be constantly around a big healthy 22 year old and then all of a sudden he's just gone and there's no tangible reason.

UALoco · Post by **UALoco** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:08 pm

A time will come shortly when we can celebrate Zach's life, although cut short. But right now, as a father, I can't imagine the pain and grief his parents are going through. I will go home and hug my kids a little longer today and tell them I love them. RIP Zach, I didn't know you, but I am very proud of what you accomplished. #65Forever

Gilbertcat · Post by **Gilbertcat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 2:20 pm

Can you imagine talking to someone about sports and life and feeling like he was the man, then in a few hours, he is gone? Its the impression on how I think RR was feeling in that moment. Cant imagine what the parents/friends/family feel.

Main Event · Post by **Main Event** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:03 pm

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:28 pm

Cannot process...

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 3:34 pm

At least one person with class at ASU.

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 4:17 pm

Good lord, such sad news..too young.

Newportcat · Post by **Newportcat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 5:00 pm

I am so sad as I am close to a family member of one of the O-Linemen and I just feel terrible for all of them as I know Zach was very well liked.

Feel awful especially for his parents

RIP

#Forever65

azpenguin · Post by **azpenguin** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 5:13 pm

I would love to see them give Zach the same tribute they gave to Damon Terrell. Call timeout at kickoff and bring the team onto the field to form a 65.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:52 pm

Merkin wrote:At least one person with class at ASU.

They actually have a small thread over at Devils Digest and they've been respectful.

http://www.scout.com/college/arizona-st ... e-wildcats" target="_blank

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:52 pm

A mother having to bury her son..........it doesn't get any worse than that.

RIP Zach

TuiTouchdown · Post by **TuiTouchdown** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:08 am

Can we stickie this thread for the season?

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 6:47 am

I saw Byrne yesterday morning and didn't put 2 and 2 together. He didn't look like himself and he was wearing shorts. Which I've never seen before. It must have been right after the video was filmed. He was walking back to McKale from Football.

TyrantCat · Post by **TyrantCat** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:13 am

Tragic loss of a young man. Just want to express my love and support for the family and team.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:53 am

TuiTouchdown wrote:Can we stickie this thread for the season?

Maybe we can get one of the computer gurus here to put up a tribute in the banner in the football sub-forum.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:44 am

Gimino's remembrance of Damon Terrell's death.

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3271 ... -rodriguez" target="_blank

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

Arizona lined up for the opening kickoff at Illinois ... and promptly called timeout. It was September 1995.

The Wildcats had practiced a special alignment for just this situation. Two groups of players moved on to the field, gathering at each 40-yard line.

The first group took a knee in unison, forming the letter "D" and raising their helmets with one arm toward the heavens. The second group did the same, except those players formed the letter "T."

Defensive back Shawn Parnell stood alone, holding up his best friend's No. 80 jersey.

Head coach Dick Tomey didn't see the tribute.

He was in Los Angeles, attending the funeral of senior tight end Damon Terrell.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:07 am

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:31 am

HiCat · Post by **HiCat** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 12:19 pm

Rodriguez said he saw Hemmila, a native of Chandler, Ariz., in a team meeting on Sunday night and talked to him the night prior. "We talked two nights ago," Rodriguez said. "Just out of the blue (he) came down and sat beside me and talked about everything, how happy he was."Byrne said there would be grief counselors available to the players.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc ... /88397788/" target="_blank

Spaceman Spiff · Post by **Spaceman Spiff** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 12:37 pm

If anyone is interested in flowers or contributions to funeral services, etc., the below article has the link.

http://www.kvoa.com/story/32730286/fune ... ch-hemmila" target="_blank

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:37 pm

Some good player quotes in the SBN article on how the players (and coaches) are initially handling the loss of Zach.

"The first day [after Hemmila's death], I didn’t want to be around here at all," (Josh) Kern said.
"[The coaching staff] made stuff not mandatory — there was a workout and a team meeting — and I didn’t come back. I didn't want to be around."

Kern continued, "I’ve been with Zach every day for four years, with workouts and football and everyday I’ve been in Tucson, so it’s been weird...Getting out of Tucson might help a little bit."

Offensive lineman Jacob Alsadek, who was roommates with Hemmila at one point, felt the same way.

"We kept his spot in the meeting room, we haven’t moved it and we still give him every sheet that we get," Alsadek said. "His locker is still up and nothing has been touched."
Alsadek continued, "Seeing this stuff is hard still... and I think going away is going to help us with that."

For the players, being around each other has been the key to coping with this tragedy, and in Tempe it'll just be them, the team hotel, and the football field.

"You're going to a hotel with your team, and being with the team has helped everybody," Alsadek said. "It’s made a lot of things easier. Losing somebody in that room is obviously not something that we wanted — I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody — but we’re making the best and we’re doing what we think he wanted — watching film, going to practice and all that stuff."

"We had a team meeting… and the more I’ve been around, I’ve started to feel a little bit better about the situation," Kern said. "And hopefully I’ll be able to get some closure [after going to Tempe]."

Meanwhile, Rodriguez, as the head coach, isn't exactly sure what he can do to help (since he's never been in a situation like this before), but he knows his team will battle through it.

"I told the team... this is not in the coaching manual," Rodriguez said. "It’s not something I’ve experienced doing, so we’ll figure it out together. I think we have a really tight group. Our guys are close. We’re not shying away from talking about it."

"And we'll get through it as a team, that’s what we have to do."

Gimino · Post by **Gimino** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:07 pm

Wildcats remember (with video) ...

Hemmila's Arizona legacy: A symphony of smiles

ANGCatFan · Post by **ANGCatFan** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 5:40 am

Thanks AG. Well done.

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 6:30 pm

Well done Texas, well done.

Sid · Post by **Sid** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 6:45 pm

azgreg wrote:
Well done Texas, well done.

Class.

RIP Zach

wyo-cat · Post by **wyo-cat** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 8:12 pm

Nicely done UT.

Login • Register