It’s been a devastatingly difficult time for TCU wide receiver Jack Bech. After a standout freshman season at LSU—his childhood dream school—he was forced to transfer to TCU following coaching changes and a significant drop in playing time during his sophomore year.
His first season with the Horned Frogs didn’t go as planned, but he bounced back with one of the most productive receiving campaigns in program history. Tragically, just as things were turning around, Jack’s world was turned upside down. Near the end of the season, he received the heartbreaking news that his brother, Tiger Bech, had been killed in a shootout on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Jack Bech Has One Goal in Mind for Late Brother Tiger Bech
Tiger Bech continued the family’s athletic legacy with a career at Princeton, where he excelled as a wide receiver and return specialist. His younger brother, Jack Bech, made an even bigger splash, turning heads with standout seasons at LSU and TCU.
But as Jack was wrapping up a stellar 2024 campaign—one his older brother had supported every step of the way—tragedy struck.
As ESPN reports, “At 3:15 A.M. on Jan. 1, Tiger and his roommate Ryan Quigley, whom he worked with in New York, were on Bourbon Street when Shamsud-Din Jabbar of Houston accelerated his pickup truck into the crowd, then got into a shootout with police before he was fatally wounded. He killed 14 people, including Tiger, and injured at least 57 others, including Quigley.
Tiger was taken to the hospital and kept on life support until his family could arrive. A TCU booster flew Jack to New Orleans on his plane immediately, but he didn’t make it in time.” Right then and there, he made a promise to himself.
“He was going to get Tiger a Hall of Fame jacket.” Losing a best friend can slow people down, but for the TCU star, it became fuel to succeed at the highest level possible, to make sure he stood true to his brother’s belief in his greatness.
It led to a spectacular home stretch, with a surreal Senior Bowl. Every player wore a number seven patch with a tiger stripe on their jersey for Tiger’s number at college. His younger brother was allowed to wear jersey number 7 for the game.
Jack Bech finished as the game’s MVP, including a magical game-winning touchdown with just seven seconds left. “I knew I was about to catch that ball and score that touchdown,” he said. “My brother’s name was written in the clouds above us. Just so many signs. I mean, if you don’t believe God is real, I don’t know how much more you need.”
Over time, he has decided to commemorate his brother and best friend all across his body as well. “7 to Heaven” is tattooed across his chest, alongside Roman numerals indicating his birth and death dates.
“They’re only on the left side of my body, because he was my other half.” He’s likely to be a Day Two pick with the latest mock draft from PFSN projecting him to go 74th overall to the Carolina Panthers.
In a viral video circulating through social media, he was ready to dedicate all his success and career in the NFL to his late brother. “He was just my role model. Everything, like, whenever I grew up, I always wanted to be better than him in everything he did.”
According to the soon-to-be NFL star, it was Tiger Bech who first identified the potential in him. “Your big brother pulls it out of you and sees what you can’t see in yourself quite yet. And that was always him for me – just pushing me to the edge, making me grow and get stronger, and just helping me be the best version of myself.
Heartwarming: TCU WR Jack Bech is dedicating his NFL career to his late brother, Tiger Bech, who was killed in the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans on January 1st.
“Whatever team gets me, it’s going to be a two-for-one special. Not only do you get Jack Bech, you get Tiger… pic.twitter.com/KlF7h5M8zL
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 21, 2025
“So forever indebted to him and everything that he’s done for me, and for helping me be right here. And his wings will hold me forever now, so I’mma a two-for-one deal now.”
