According to his hometown newspaper, The Morning Call, former Super Bowl champion Nate Hobgood-Chittick has died at the all-too-young age of 42-years-old.
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Per the newspaper, which is local to Allentown, Pennsylvania, Hobgood-Chittick died because of a heart attack he suffered while with family and friends.
Hobgood-Chittick went to Allen High School in Allentown before becoming a standout defensive tackle at the college and NFL level. He went to North Carolina where he was an All-American who played in four bowl games for the Tar Heels. Following his stint in the ACC, where he was also named to the Academic Honor Roll, the 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive lineman played for the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants — notably winning Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams.
He put five active NFL seasons under his belt, notching 33 total games played and one start.
His former high school coach, Rich Sniscak, spoke to the newspaper about his standout defensive lineman:
"As talented as he was, it was never about him," Sniscak said. "It was about uplifting others around him. He had that special drive that champions have. He had an innate ability to want to be his best all the time. He was never satisfied. He was one that was always critical of himself and felt he was never good enough at this or good enough at that.
"But in the end, he enjoyed being one of the guys. That group of kids from 1991 and 1992 at Allen, those football teams, they're very tightknit to this day."
After his NFL career, Hobgood-Chittick settled down in Southern California as a financial adviser.
