College Sports

At Midnight Yell, Texas A&M fans asked to honor Tyler Hilinski at Saturday’s game

Texas A&M football is well known for its litany of long-standing traditions.

On Friday night, the Aggies were asked to borrow one from their opponent this week, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

At the Midnight Yell, a yell leader asked A&M fans to open the third quarter with three fingers raised to honor the late Tyler Hilinski, brother of Gamecocks quarterback Ryan Hilinski. South Carolina has adopted the tradition in part inspired by Hilinski’s Hope, the foundation set up by his family after his suicide.

Tyler Hilinski’s death sent shockwaves through the sport and left a family struggling to understand why. It drove them to work to raise awareness of mental health issues for student athletes.

Ryan Hilinski wears No. 3 to honor his late brother, who played at Washington State. The Hilinski family moved from California to South Carolina to ensure they’d not be separated again.

Kickoff in College Station is 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network. To find out more about Hilinski’s Hope, go here.

This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 10:21 AM with the headline "At Midnight Yell, Texas A&M fans asked to honor Tyler Hilinski at Saturday’s game."

Ben Breiner
The State
Covers the South Carolina Gamecocks, primarily football, with a little basketball, baseball or whatever else comes up. Joined The State in 2015. Previously worked at Muncie Star Press and Greenwood Index-Journal. Picked up feature writing honors from the APSE, SCPA and IAPME at various points. A 2010 University of Wisconsin graduate. Support my work with a digital subscription
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