Menu
Nevada assistant football coach Downing dies at 49
The first day of practice for the Nevada High School football team is usually a celebrated occasion.
This year, it was a solemn one.
Linebackers coach Will Downing passed away Monday, the same day as the first football practice of 2021, just over two months shy of his 50th birthday.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, NHS head coach Wes Beachler — who had Downing on his staff since 2017 — said: "There are no words to adequately describe the impact Coach Downing had in the community and on the football field. Most people can live a lifetime without knowing a man of such high character, work ethic, integrity and loyalty. His most endearing quality to me was how genuine he was. Coach Will Downing never had a hidden agenda, never embellished a story, and spoke from his heart. You can live your entire life not knowing a man of his caliber. I was blessed enough to work with him and call him a friend."
Downing owned Buzz's BBQ & Steakhouse along with his wife, Amy. Their son, J.D., is a senior on the football team.
Downing helped coach the Tigers football camps last month — and he had plenty of experience and wisdom to impart on young athletes.
A 1994 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he also played football and baseball, Downing served more than 23 years in the U.S. Army, eventually earning the rank of Colonel.
He retired from the U.S. Army and relocated to Nevada in 2017.
Funeral information will be available online soon at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.
