Former Penn State LB Bani Gbadyu Dies at Age 34 After Cancer Diagnosis

Former Penn State linebacker Bani Gbadyu died Saturday morning after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, per Frank Bodani of the York Daily Record. He was 34.

Bodani reported on Gbadyu's cancer diagnosis in an article earlier this month, writing that the former Nittany Lion was "stunned" by the news and was hospitalized in intensive care. Gbadyu also said the following in a Facebook post last week, per Bodani:

"I feel blessed that there is an army invading heaven with prayers on my behalf. I know and can feel that God is loving me through this unimaginable time. I know everyone is supporting me, and most importantly my wife, family and kids believe in me. I hope that my journey can be a lesson for someone, at some point in time. We are going to lean on God and Fight On. #FightOnBani."

A GoFundMe page created to help Gbadyu's family with medical costs had raised more than $85,000 as of Saturday night.

Gbadyu, who left war-torn Liberia with his father and older brother when he was a young boy, played for the Nittany Lions from 2007-10, serving primarily as a backup linebacker and occasional starter.

In four seasons at Penn State, he posted 118 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, one interception, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.

Following his college football career, Gbadyu earned a tryout with the then-Oakland Raiders but was cut early and never played a game for the franchise. In recent years, he served as a high school football coach around Lebanon, Pennsylvania.