Kentucky Wildcats help honor the life of fallen 10-year-old football player

After tragedy struck the city of Lexington last week, the Kentucky Wildcats football team wanted to help. A funeral was held Saturday for Landon Hayes, a 10-year-old football player who was killed in a shooting on Feb. 7 at his North Lexington home.

Several Kentucky football players were in attendance as family members shared stories and said their final goodbye to the young man many believed had a bright future ahead. Former Wildcat linebacker and current director of player development Courtney Love was one of those to speak at the funeral. He also recruited players Tre’Vonn Rybka, Jager Burton, DeMarcus Harris, Jacquez Jones, and Keaton Upshaw to serve as pallbearers.

“He was a special young man. He really was,” Love told Kentucky Sports Radio. “I don’t know if I met a 10-year-old that has wisdom like he did and the stature that he did.”

Hayes played for the Lexington Ravens youth football team, where coaches described him as “smart, athletic, funny and full of life.” Love developed a relationship Hayes after becoming neighbors with his uncle, Alexis, when he first moved to Kentucky as a player in 2015. He even invited the young star to one of the Wildcats’ pre-Citrus Bowl practices last fall, where he got to meet some of the players and tour the facilities.

So when Love heard the news, he immediately reached out to Alexis to offer his assistance.

“However we can support, I want to support,” Love told Landon’s uncle. “I wouldn’t hesitate. Certainly the guys I reached out to on the team didn’t hesitate to come out and help.”

The Lexington community as a whole did its part, raising $2,000 for the funeral costs. Father Jim Sichko, a local priest, contributed the remaining $3,000 needed. For the family Hayes, the support from Kentucky football team and the rest of the community was greatly appreciated.

“(Love) talked to Landon and knew that Landon was going to be a great athlete,” his grandfather, Alvin, a long-time KSR caller, shared on Tuesday morning’s show. “… I’m very grateful to the University of Kentucky football program for that show of love.”

Sadly, tragedy is no stranger to the Kentucky Wildcats football program. In 2018 the entire team attended the funeral of Marco Shemwell, a four-year-old who was killed when struck by a vehicle outside of Kroger Field. Two years later, they buried their offensive line coach, John Schlarman. This year’s Super Bowl commercial ended with a nod to Chris Oats, the star linebacker that is still recovering from a stroke. Through tragedy, the program has become united, called to serve the community during times of distress.

“We’ve had a lot of different things happen,” Love said. “It’s one of those things where we’re going to show up and we’re going to do what God calls us to do and that’s to serve our community and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. At the end of the day, that’s something I want to continue to instill and build in our program, because quite frankly, that’s what our program is about.”

KSR’s Nick Rousch contributed to this report.