The Michigan State University football team is bestowing a special honor on one of the four students killed in November during the Oxford High School shooting.
Sixteen-year-old Tate Myre was a standout running back for the Oxford Wildcats.
He dreamed of playing college football at a big Division One school, and MSU was one of the teams he was eyeing.
On Wednesday, the day when colleges across the country begin signing new recruits, MSU head football coach Mel Tucker honored Myre in an online video, naming him a “Spartan Dawg.”
“A ‘Spartan Dawg’ is defined not by the plays they make on the field, but by the character they exemplify, the leadership they bring to their team and their community, and for extraordinary individuals like Tate Myre…their heroism,” Tucker said.
“Tate Myre had an unmatched work ethic, athleticism and love for his teammates,” Tucker continued. “He had a passion to one day play for Michigan State. This passion was paired with an unstoppable drive and follow-through to get there.”
Myre was due to graduate from Oxford High School in 2023.
Unconfirmed reports from Oxford indicate Myre ran towards the 15-year-old gunman in an attempt to stop him.
There’s a petition drive underway to rename the high school’s stadium in his memory.