Former Louisville players help pay funeral bill for Kentucky great Jared Lorenzen
Every season-opener of Jared Lorenzon’s Kentucky career was played against the team’s greatest rival in Louisville. Now, some former Cardinals players are helping foot the bill for Lorenzen’s funeral.
Lorenzen, the all-time leading passer in Kentucky history, died last week from an infection as well as heart and kidney problems. He was 38 years old.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, former Louisville offensive lineman Jamon Brown and his foundation are donating $5,000 to help cover the costs of Lorenzen’s funeral. Former Louisville players Deion Branch and Chris Redman are also reportedly chipping in.
Brown said the gesture was meant to show some things are more important than a college football rivalry, per Forbes:
“We wanted to be an example of how, no matter if you played for the blue or the red, how important it is for us to come together and support one another, both in and out of sports,” Brown said.
“The rivalry between the schools is intense, and it’s great, but at the end of the day, all that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you remember that we’re all in this game of life together, whether you played for the blue or the red.”
This isn’t the first time Brown has helped fund a funeral, as he also covered the funeral costs of a one-month-old boy killed in Louisville in May. Brown recently signed a three-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons.
Lorenzen was a four-year starter at Kentucky from 2000 to 2003 and holds the school record for career passing yards with 10,354. He threw for 78 touchdowns and 41 interceptions while also contributing 12 touchdowns on the ground.
Weighing in at 260 pounds during his Kentucky career and nicknamed the “Hefty Lefty,” Lorenzen gained fame through his size and quarterback play for a program that peaked at just seven wins for a season during his career.
Lorenzen would later spend a few years as Eli Manning’s back-up with the New York Giants, winning a Super Bowl ring in 2008. Unfortunately, his weight spiraled out of control after retirement, but he would later shed over 100 pounds in a video series called the Jared Lorenzen project.
According to his obituary, a celebration of Lorenzen’s life is scheduled for Wednesday in Edgewood, Kentucky.
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