As I found out, goosebumps ran throughout my body. Why do such bad things always happen to such good people?

NIU football’s senior tailback, Thomas Hammock is expected to have his football career ended because of a severe cardiac condition. He was looking to reach new heights on the football field never before seen in NIU Cardinal and Black.

While reportedly Hammock has only received one opinion on his condition, advising him to discontinue playing football forever, another opinion is scheduled to come on Thursday afternoon.

Whether he is advised to never play again, or, all of this fuss is uncalled for, the extent of Hammock’s impact on this campus goes far beyond anything that was accomplished on the football field.

It is perhaps becoming more of a cliche than anything, but it couldn’t possibly be used any better than in this situation; Thomas Hammock was the epitome of a student athlete.

Not only was he on pace to become a three-time academic All-American, he was a one of a kind person that showed a true affection for anyone he met.

Running into Hammock outside of Stevenson Wednesday, I figured he would be in a somber mood. But when he saw me, his face lit up with that same 1,000 watt-grin, as he shared some inspiring words.

Commenting about Tuesday’s Star Sports headline, all Hammock had to say on this day was, “Stars don’t fall, they shine.”

Shaking his hand, with that big grin spread across his face, you got the feeling that if you asked him for the shirt off his back, he’d gladly oblige — with the smile intact.

“Thomas is very outgoing, he enjoys meeting people and he’s a strong believer in God,” said Scherry Hammock, Thomas’ mother who has missed only one of her son’s games (home and away) since he’s been at NIU. “He’s just a nice person to be around and he’s always very positive.”

With an entrapping personality that grabs your full attention, Hammock always has a smile plastered on his mug and looks like nothing could get him in a solemn mood.

“He’s always happy,” said Hammock’s best friend and All-MAC linebacker Larry Williams. “He’s just happy to be here, happy to be in a position that he’s in college and playing football.”

I think Hammock said it best when I asked him his thoughts of the NFL one week ago for a feature story. Here was a young man, recently turned 21, in the prime of his life, and no reason to have dreams of playing in football professionally deflated. His grounded reply: “I’m not really thinking about that. I’m just trying to set things up for after football.”

It was almost as if he didn’t love football enough to pursue it, but anyone who knew him knew that wasn’t the case at all.

“He has always been focused,” added Williams, who has lived with Hammock the past two summers. “We’ve got a ridiculous schedule over the summer [with football conditioning] and normally people aren’t looking for internships. It’s pretty hard to focus on that stuff, but he was the main one who would focus on stuff like that. He just always thought beyond football. That’s one of the things that is going to help him do good in the corporate field.”

While today’s visit to the doctor’s office shows itself on the horizon, the future of NIU’s biggest star and best player is in high doubt.

But as sorry as you may want to feel for Hammock, deep inside you shouldn’t worry at all because Thomas Hammock is much more than just a football player.