UNLV offensive lineman Ben Christman\u2019s February death was due to a heart issue.<\/p>\n
The Clark County Coroner\u2019s Office said Thursday<\/a> that Christman died of heart disease and an irregular heartbeat. Christman was found dead at his apartment on Feb. 11. He was set to turn 22 on Feb. 12.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n According to an incident report after his death<\/a>, Christman said that he was experiencing chest pains the day before. He visited the team\u2019s cardiologist and had an EKG but was told that everything looked normal. He was discovered at his apartment by teammates who went to check on him after he wasn\u2019t at practice on Feb. 11.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team\u2019s heart is broken to hear of Ben\u2019s passing,\u201d UNLV coach Dan Mullen said in a statement after his death. \u201cSince the day Ben set foot on our campus a month ago, he made the Rebels a better program. Ben was an easy choice for our Leadership Committee as he had earned the immediate respect, admiration and friendship of all his teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n Before transferring to UNLV in the offseason, Christman spent two seasons at Ohio State and two seasons at Kentucky. He was with the Buckeyes for the 2021 and 2022 seasons and then transferred to Lexington, where he appeared in 12 games over two seasons. He was an Ohio native and four-star recruit in the high school class of 2021.<\/p>\n On social media Friday morning<\/a>, former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit advocated for all college physicals to include echocardiograms. His son Zak, a walk-on at Ohio State, was hospitalized in 2023<\/a> and diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. In his post, Herbstreit said that a heart replacement was even discussed for Zak but that his condition has improved over the past two years.<\/p>\n \u201cA mandated echo could help save lives,\u201d Herbstreit wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s time for the NCAA and conference commissioners to take a look at this. Love to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n