Notre Dame football DB plays in Sun Bowl amidst multiple family tragedies

Lost among the celebrations over Notre Dame football's win against the Oregon State Beavers was the family tragedies that sophomore defensive back Jaden Mickey had to deal with throughout the day on Friday.

Things started on Friday morning when the cornerback's father took to social media to announce that Nilka "Mama" Mickey passed away due to colon cancer overnight. Lamar Mickey also let it be known that he and Nilka had been together for 25 years.

Alongside the announcement, Lamar posted a beautiful picture of Nilka in memoriam of the woman who raised the Notre Dame football star. Despite the loss, Jaden Mickey made it known shortly after the announcement that he planned on playing in the Sun Bowl.

Mickey did indeed play in the Sun Bowl win over Oregon State. While he didn't make a tackle or get an official pass defended, it appears that he played well enough to keep the ball from being thrown his way.

The defensive back played a total of 25 snaps and the man he was covering was thrown to just twice. The Beavers were 1-for-2 for just 12 yards. According to PFF, he finished the game with a total rating of 62.1 and a coverage rating of 66.1 on Friday.

After the game, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman talked about his lack of surprise at how well the defense played. It turned out that at least in part, some of that play was led by Mickey's teammates who wanted to dedicate the game to the sophomore in the wake of his mother's death.

After the game, players like Benjamin Morrison talked about how they wanted to support Jaden Mickey any way they could. Morrison also talked about how the Fighting Irish were a family that was rallying around the Mickey clan.

Notre Dame football star's family pain continues

Unfortunately for Jaden Mickey and his family, the hits kept coming after Notre Dame football's win. On Friday night, Lamar took to social media again to announce that his father, and Jaden's grandfather passed away as well.

"Unbelievable!!" Lamar wrote amid what had to be an incredible amount of pain. "Tonight my father passed away!! The man that taught me how to be a resilient man and over come obstacles and challenges in life!! I love you!! Rest in Peace!! My God give us strength."

The Notre Dame football family is almost circling around Jaden Mickey as he continues to go through far too much loss in such a short amount of time.