During Saturday’s Senior Bowl, which took place exactly one month after Jack Bech was informed that his brother, Tiger Bech, was among the 14 killed in the New Year’s Eve attack in New Orleans, the TCU receiver gave his late brother the best tribute possible.
While Bech was far from the most hyped player throughout the week, he left as the talk of the town following a terrific game.
In the final play of the game while wearing his brother’s No. 7 jersey number, Bech caught the game-winning touchdown from Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan to walk it off for the American Team as time expired. In total, Bech hauled in six receptions for 68 yards in the game, which was enough to be named the Senior Bowl MVP.
A WALK-OFF WIN AT THE @SENIORBOWL!
Seth Henigan finds Jack Bech for the American Team win! @MemphisFB @TCUFootball pic.twitter.com/Z04yGiQSVH
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 1, 2025
After the game, Bech spoke with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero about what this moment meant to him considering the grief he still faces due to his brother’s death.
“Man it’s simple, my brother has some wings on me,” said Bech of his late brother. “He gave them to me and let that all take place. Our lord and savior Jesus Christ, Tiger, nothing else but them. They are the reason I did what I did today. I attribute it all to them. I’m just the physical person here doing it.
“It has been surreal just to be able to come and take place in this game. It’s a goal you set for yourself. But if I had the option that I came here, had the worst week ever, ruin my draft stock, and that means I get to give my brother a hug… I would take that. But on the flip side of that, I don’t think I could have had the week that I had if all that hadn’t have happened. So like I said, his wings were on my side.”
Bech went to to say that he knows his brother is proud of him, as it was always Tiger’s dream to have him succeed on the brightest stage as a football player.
“All the big brother does in life is want to see his little brother succeed. He’s been my role model my whole life. The person I looked up to. The person I wanted to be. He was the best big brother I could ever ask for. My whole goal the rest of my life is just to live his legacy on.”
One month ago today, Jack Bech lost his brother, Tiger, in the New Year’s terror attack on Bourbon Street.
Today, Jack wore his brother’s No. 7 in the @seniorbowl and caught the winning touchdown — on a play run with 7 seconds left on the clock. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/hnY1uAMhLh
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 1, 2025
In the past, we have seen the Senior Bowl do wonders for draft prospects who perhaps didn’t have the most hype leading into the game. And in winning the Senior Bowl MVP, he joins an impressive list of future NFL stars including Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, and Daniel Jones.
Only time will tell whether Bech will go on to have the kind of NFL career as those players did. But regardless, it has to give Bech a little relief in this difficult time that he did his brother proud on perhaps the biggest stage he has ever played on.
