Zach Hoffpauir, Arizona prep standout, dies at 26
Former Peoria Centennial football/ baseball star Zach Hoffpauir, one of the greatest athletes in Arizona high school history, died Thursday morning, his father Doug told
Hoffpauir was 26.
Doug Hoffpauir did not provide a cause of death. Zach had been staying with his father in the Valley during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
Hoffpauir recently was hired by Northern Colorado football coach Ed McCaffrey to be his defensive backs coach. He was good friend's with McCaffrey's son, Christian, a running back for the Carolina Panthers. They played football together at Stanford.
Hoffpauir was a standout safety who made All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2014. His new role at Northern Colorado included recruiting Arizona.
"Hard because he loved coaching," Doug Hoffpauir said Thursday night in a text to "He was so excited to get back to Northern Colorado and try to influence lives beyond football.
"He loved his head coach, Ed McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey was his best friend. He had so much to look forward to."
Hoffpauir helped coach football at Anthem Boulder Creek last season with Beau Kitson, one of his close friends. He would always come back to Centennial to help out the Coyotes.
When Todd Graham had his first Signing Day at Arizona State in February 2012, he felt maybe worse about missing out on Hoffpauir to Stanford than losing out on any other recruit. He commented at the time on Hoffpauir's character and how he felt he would some day become a great coach.
Centennial coach Richard Taylor always regarded Hoffpair as one of his favorite players to coach because of the way he impacted the team.
“The thing I will always remember about him, outside of his great abilities in football and baseball, was he always made everybody around him better,” Taylor said. “He always was looking out for the person he could tell was not accepted.
“I just don’t have the words to express the loss. Just to so many people, so many people he would have reached and touched in the future. It’s a loss on so many levels.”
Hoffpauir left Stanford in 2015 after being taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 22nd round of the MLB draft and played a minor league season that summer. He hit .258 with three home runs and seven RBIs in 62 at-bats between rookie and Single-A ball.
In 2016, he returned to Stanford to resume his football career at free safety.
Injuries took a toll on him during his football career, causing him to retire.
He hit .455 his senior year in high school in 2012 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.
In 2011, his last football season at Centennial, Hoffpauir was all over the field as a hard-hitting safety and a redzone running back finding tough yards into the end zone. The Coyotes went 11-2, losing to Scottsdale Chaparral 3130 in the state semifinals.
He had 11 rushing touchdowns and 59 tackles, eight for losses, and six interceptions, making
All-Arizona team.
He was chosen by
as the greatest football player in Centennial's rich history.