The USC football program announced on Friday that inside receivers coach and associate head coach for the offense Dave Nichol has passed away. He was 45. Multiple sources indicated that Nichol had been battling cancer.
“We are heartbroken and devastated,” said USC football 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 is survived by his father, Robert Nichol Sr., and brothers Robert Nichol Jr. and family and Jimmy Nichol and family, per the school.
The school had released a statement on Monday, on the eve of USC spring camp, that Nichol was stepping down to deal with a “private medical matter.” USC offensive analyst Kevin Huard was promoted to the interim inside receivers coach to replace Nichol in the time being.
Nichol was one of the early hires for Riley, reports coming in early December that he was leaving Mississippi State for the Trojans. Nichol spent two seasons at Mississippi State with stops at Washington State, East Carolina, Arizona, Baylor and Texas Tech. He is a 1999 graduate of Texas Tech where he played wide receiver.
It would appear that things happened suddenly, as Riley was asked about the possibility of Nichol returning to the team during his first media session of spring on Tuesday, stating there was “absolutely” hope.
“You know, he’s going through a tough deal,” said Riley. “So, just ask all of our family, the Trojan family, for their prayers.”
The interim receivers coach Huard joined the USC staff as an offensive analyst in February after three seasons (2019-21) as an offensive analyst at Texas A&M. He also has stops at Sacramento State (co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach), Georgia State (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach) and Illinois State (quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator).
Riley is scheduled to hold his first Saturday spring presser tomorrow.
