Some of you probably heard from various Alabama news outlets - former Tide football player Victor Ellis passed away Tuesday night from a rare form of cancer. He was 28 years old.

Victor played linebacker for Alabama from 1998-2001 and was named a permanent team captain - the highest honor a player can receive from his teammates. All permanent captains have their handprints set in concrete at the base of Denny Chimes.

A lot of people know about Victor's football history. What you may not know is that he also worked for the Undergraduate Admissions office as a regional recruiter. I watched Victor play my first three years in college, and then I met him in person in the fall of 2006. I actually trained him on Talisma. It was hard not to stare at his SEC Championship ring from 1999. I had personally watched him win that ring in Atlanta when the Tide beat Florida for the second time in one season.

After the training was over, Victor and the other regional recruiters would come back every few months and we'd have refresher courses and chat about various things. It was amazing with Victor. He always made you feel like you were his best friend, stopping to talk about anything and everything.

The following are excerpts from internal emails.

Thanks for all that you each have done to support Victor during this horrible time… It hardly seems possible that it was just last July that he and the other regional recruiters were here… hanging out at Mugshots… and then he lead a group to other establishments downtown."

That night was crazy. We went to three different bars, but I had to call it a night when the party moved on... Don't get the wrong idea, though. Victor didn't even drink. He just liked to have fun.

One of the most amazing things I learned was that even through the chemo treatments, and even though he couldn't sleep for more than one or two hours because of his coughing spells, and even though he had lost so much weight and was looking rather frail, he still recruited for UA.

... he has folks visiting from the area and has been talking with about 5 high school seniors about UA. Even needed to send him some material so that he can continue to recruit them...

This has really been somewhat of a roller coaster. The last time Victor visited the office, he was in a wheelchair, but he was beating the cancer. Things really did look like they were going work out. Then in January his conditioned suddenly worsened and he never recovered.

There are a few people who deserve recognition for their kindness throughout Victor's trial. Former Tide runningback Ahmaad Galloway spearheaded fund drives to help pay for Victor's medical expenses. Kathy and Tim Miller took Victor into their home for 7-8 months while he battled the cancer. They want everyone to know that they, along with Victor, truly appreciate all the cards, notes, emails, phone calls, contributions, and prayers given by all of Victor's friends.

I'll end with an excerpt from the Chattanooga Times Free Press (Victor was living in Chattanooga):

In the same way he once thrilled fans at Red Bank and Alabama, Ellis continued to inspire fellow cancer patients at Memorial Hospital, as well as the staff. One patient, Stacy Woody, continually was amazed at how upbeat Ellis would be during the depths of his battle.

"I simply cannot express this young man's ability to be so selfless, gracious, caring, determined and more," Woody said. "He is what every parent hopes their child grows up to be."