With an assist from the Indianapolis Colts, Tyler Trent will be in Nashville to serve as honorary bowl captain when the Purdue Boilermakers play in Friday’s Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
Colts owner Jim Irsay flew Trent and his family to Nashville on Wednesday so that they could be on hand for the game against the Auburn Tigers (1:30 p.m., ESPN, ESPN+).
Trent, a former Purdue student and Boilermakers’ super-fan, is suffering from osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer that is now in its terminal stage. Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm befriended Trent last year, before his health worsened, and said the young man has been an inspiration to his team and countless others.
Trent’s father, Tony, tweeted a photo of his son on board the Colts plane on Wednesday.
A huge thank you to @JimIrsay and @Colts for helping us make our goal to get to Nashville. So @theTylerTrent can be the bowl Captain this weekend at the Purdue game. @MusicCityBowl pic.twitter.com/x29U3fUvqu
— Tony Trent (@TonyTrent10) December 26, 2018
Trent received the Disney Spirit Award at the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this month.
The Colts have also found inspiration in Trent’s fearlessness and positive attitude. In October, he got a visit from kicker Adam Vinatieri, and Colts mascot Blue is a frequent guest at his home.
Earlier this week, Trent wrote an article about what he was grateful for, and the Purdue football team figured prominently. He talked about a grueling surgery he had in October, just before the Boilermakers hosted Ohio State. Trent was on the sidelines with the team for the game, a 49-20 win by Purdue, and had predicted the upset victory.
“I am extremely grateful that … I was able to attend that football game with my family and experience all the love and support. Not only from Purdue fans, but from across the nation, including Ohio State fans.
“Though I am in hospice care and have to wake up every morning knowing that the day might be my last, I still have a choice to make: to make that day the best it can be. To make the most of whomever comes to visit, texts, tweets or calls me.
“Yet, isn’t that a choice we all have every day? After all, nobody knows the amount of days we have left.”
Trent will join both teams’ captains on the field for the coin toss on Friday.