ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff passed away on his 34th birthday Tuesday after a battle with pneumonia. “We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news of the tragic passing of friend and ESPN colleague Edward Aschoff,” ESPN said in a statement. Just a few weeks earlier, on Dec. 5, Aschoff had tweeted about his illness, writing, “Anyone ever had multifocal (bilateral) pneumonia in their early 30s as some who never gets sick and has a very good immune system? Asking for two friends ... my lungs.” Aschoff most recently reported live from the Nov. 30 Ohio State-Michigan game. He said in an Instagram post two days later that the game “was a lot of fun,” but “getting pneumonia … not so much.” Aschoff joined ESPN in 2011 after earning his B.S. in Journalism from the University of Florida. He moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to expand his role nationally, which included television coverage, and he reported on campuses across the country. 

Shortly after his death was announced, Twitter was flooded with condolences from friends and coworkers. Sports writer Zach Abolverdi called his friend an “incredible reporter and an even better person.” ESPN executive editor Lauren Reynolds said, “the outpouring of love and support from those whose lives he touched has been overwhelming, and is a testament to the light he brought to this world.” Aschoff and his fiancée, Katy Bertau, were set to be married in New Orleans in April.