Former University of Central Arkansas football player Dylan Desper died on January 7 after being involved in an accident just months before his planned wedding. He was 27.
Desper was an offensive lineman for the Bears from 2018 to 2019, appearing on the team’s 2019 Southland Championship squad.
“He fought for a really, really long time,” his fiancée Makenzie Pickering told Arkansas’ Fox16 on Tuesday, January 13. “He fought so hard.”
Details on the manner of Desper’s death are scarce, but the station reports that the accident involved heavy machinery and took place in his hometown of Madison, Mississippi.
“My sweet, precious Dylan,” Pickering added via Instagram on Friday, January 9. “I don’t even have the words right now. My heart is completely broken. Dylan was so loved by so many people. He had the most tender, giving heart. He made every single person he encountered feel truly loved and seen, and I think that was my favorite quality about him. He truly was the best person I know.”
Before enrolling at Central Arkansas, Desper was a standout football player at Madison Central High School. He began his collegiate career at Jones College, where he met Pickering in 2018. They became engaged in May 2025 and planned to get married in October.
“The University of Central Arkansas football family mourns the passing of former player Dylan Desper,” the Bears’ football account wrote via Instagram. “Dylan played Offensive Line for the Bears and was a member of the 2019 Southland Championship Team. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Desper transferred to UCA in 2019 and graduated the following year, moving back home to take a job in construction.
“Born and raised in Madison, Mississippi, Dylan was widely known as a ‘gentle giant,’ a powerful athlete on the football field with a heart even bigger off it,” his obituary reads. “Throughout his playing career, he demonstrated exceptional strength, dedication, and teamwork.”
“The sense of loss is immense for Dylan’s family and the community that celebrated his life,” the tribute continues. “His faith served as a source of comfort to many, with loved ones believing he is now at peace. Though gone too soon, Dylan’s legacy of laughter, love, loyalty, and strength lives on in the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to know him.”
Pickering shed more light on what Desper was like off the field, telling Fox16, “He never met a stranger. He made sure everyone felt his love.”
She also described the outpouring of support she and Desper’s family has received from the UCA football community. Zach Brady, one of his former roommates, drove overnight to deliver one of Desper’s 2019 game jerseys to his family.
“That right there shows me what kind of family UCA is,” Pickering said. “They took care of each other.”
Fox16 reports that Desper was an organ donor, resulting in treatment for 80 people.
His family will hold a celebration of life on Saturday, January 17, emphasizing that it will not be a traditional funeral.
“He would want us to celebrate,” Pickering said. “If there’s one thing people take away, it’s to be more like Dylan, be kind, smile, and love everybody.”
