Tyler Hilinski's Parents Say QB Had CTE, Brain of 65-Year-Old at Time of Death

The parents of late Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski said Tuesday that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his death.

In an interview for NBC's Today show, Mark Hilinski revealed what he was told about his son's brain: "The medical examiner said he had the brain of a 65-year-old, which is really hard to take. He was the sweetest, most outgoing, giving kid. That was difficult to hear."

Hilinski committed suicide in January at the age of 21.

Mark and Kym Hilinski also took part in a Sports Illustrated documentary regarding their son's death, what led up to it and its aftermath.

In the documentary, Kym said, "Did football kill Tyler? I don't think so. Did he get CTE from football? Probably. Was that the only thing that attributed to his death? I don't know."

Kym also told Hoda Kotb on Today there was no indication that Tyler was in such a negative state: "There weren't really any verbal signs from Tyler to us or to anybody at Washington State that he was suffering."

Also, Kym mentioned in the documentary that the medical examiner said the tau protein in Tyler's brain was consistent with an elderly person rather than a 21-year-old.

Hilinski saw limited on-field action with the Cougars in 2016 and 2017 but was expected to vie for Washington State's starting job in 2018 following the graduation of Luke Falk.

In honor of Hilinski, Falk wore No. 3 at the Senior Bowl.