USC inside wide receivers coach Dave Nichol, shown here with East Carolina in 2015, has died, USC announced Friday. (Gerry Broome / Associated Press)
Dave Nichol, a new assistant and longtime college receivers coach who joined USC’s staff just last December, has died, the school announced Friday. He was 45.
Nichol had been battling cancer, a person familiar with his situation told The Los Angeles Times. He died Friday in McKinney, Texas, not far from his hometown of Dallas.
“We are heartbroken and devastated,” USC 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.”
USC announced on Monday that Nichol had stepped away from the program to deal with a private medical matter. In his…