Former Princeton wide receiver Martin “Tiger” Bech was one of 14 people who died in the terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. His brother, TCU receiver Jack Bech, is an NFL prospect.

Jack Bech spoke publicly about his brother for the first time Friday.

“Now, each day on will be the hardest day of my life,” he said, via Jasmine Dean of KLFY. “Just living there, knowing I can’t speak to him ever again.”

Tiger Bech, a Lafayette, Louisiana, native, had dinner with his family in New Orleans and then went to Bourbon Street with his best friend. Jack Bech said no one “thought it would end the way it did” when they got word of Tiger Bech’s injuries.

Bech’s parents made it to the hospital before Tiger’s passing, arriving to find their son on life support, and they FaceTimed Jack Bech to say goodbye.

“I truly believe he could hear us,” Jack said. “His eyes were closed and he was on a machine, but I know he could hear us. God kept his heart beating for a reason, and I believe it was so that me and my family could tell him goodbye.”

Tiger was 28.

Jack Bech played two seasons at LSU before transferring to TCU before the 2023 season. He had a breakout season in 2024, with 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns on 62 catches, becoming only the fifth TCU player to top 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.

The Biletnikoff Award semifinalist declared for the 2025 NFL draft in December.