Tyler Trent's youngest brother, Ethan, finds comfort in football. Just like he did.

CARMEL – Kelly Trent sometimes wishes the youngest of her three sons, Ethan, would share his feelings. Most mothers probably feel the same way about their teenage sons.

It has been four years this month since his older brother, Tyler Trent, became one of the biggest stories in college football. Tom Rinaldi, then working for ESPN, told the story on “College Gameday” of Tyler’s multi-year battle with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer to a national audience. That night, Tyler’s school, his beloved Purdue, upset No. 2 Ohio State.

In an interview with Rinaldi that night, Tyler answered questions. Ethan, an eighth grader, sat next to his brother and listened. On the field that night, before and after the game and almost anywhere Tyler went, Ethan pushed his wheelchair.

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“To see who Ethan is, as a brother, is his action,” said his father, Tony Trent. “Every spot we went to, he always wanted to push him in the wheelchair. He always wanted to be there in those situations for Tyler to take care of him. When you look back and see us on the field, Ethan is always there. He saw a lot of hard things. He saw a lot of things a child shouldn’t have to see — or I’d want him to see —  but it was real and there were some painful things with Tyler. Watching somebody die is not fun.”

Tyler died on Jan. 1, 2019. Ethan, surrounded by his cousins and middle brother, Blake, spoke at Tyler’s funeral. “I love Tyler,” he said. “He was my role model, my best friend, and most importantly, my brother.”

Life moves on. The middle school kid that Ethan was in those photos and videos four years ago is now a 17-year-old senior at Carmel. Tyler was not the athlete his youngest brother became. “He would have been a great coach,” said Ethan, who starts on the offensive line for Carmel and will play at Indiana State.

On a recent Wednesday night, Carmel’s senior football players gave speeches. Ethan was one of the last to speak. One of his major points was that he did not share a lot of his feelings because he did not want his parents to have to bear more pain than necessary.

“I’m the type of person that I didn’t want to put any more on their plate,” he said. “So I’ll kind of put my emotions down. But football, honestly, is what I can pour my heart in to. That’s where I can put my emotions.”

The basement of the Trents’ home in Carmel is filled with memorabilia and memories of Tyler’s impact, including signed jerseys from Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck and Adam Vinatieri and a frame holding the Purdue jacket he wore for the Ohio State game. There is also a sketch of a photo of Tyler made by a family friend from that night. The hands pushing Tyler’s wheelchair are Ethan’s.

Tyler’s spirit and empathy captured the attention of the sports world. He made trips to Atlanta for the Home Depot College Football Awards and Orlando for the Disney Spirit Award. Ethan shot hoops with Shaquille O’Neal, who called him “little brother.”

“It was kind of like a dream, honestly,” Ethan said. “But I was happy that Tyler’s message was being shared and he was almost like a spokesperson for people in the same situation with childhood cancer. And being able for him to share God through his story was the biggest blessing.”

But there is nothing easy about losing a brother, especially at Ethan’s age. It was a whirlwind for the Trents, who intentionally wanted Tyler to squeeze as much as he could into the time he had left. There were tough times in the months that followed his death.

“Especially the years after,” Ethan said. “Those were definitely the hardest. I think we can all agree on that for multiple reasons. Learning how to live life with what we were dealt afterwards is hard.”

Tony said the COVID-19 pandemic actually provided a silver lining for the family, allowing them some time to grieve. “We hadn’t really grieved,” Kelly said. “So it did feel delayed. Even though you did lose a child, there is still stuff you are doing that (life) carries on some level, even though it’s not necessarily healthy.”

Ethan has a tight group of friends, including Carmel senior football players like wide receiver Reece Bellin, quarterbacks Jack Kazmierczack and Cameron Carmichael and linebacker Noah Bradbury, going back to his middle-school days.

“I think it was hard for them (when Tyler died) because they don’t know what to say,” Ethan said. “Especially when you are in middle school. I know it was hard for them to know what to ask me or know what to say. They saw it was a touchy subject, but they were there for me. Those guys are my brothers, too.”

When Tyler was first diagnosed with cancer and was going through treatments at Riley Children’s Hospital, Ethan was in fourth grade and wanted to be there all the time. He could not always be there, but was able to FaceTime and talk to Tyler on the phone. Throughout Tyler’s cancer battle, Tony and Kelly allowed younger brothers Blake and Ethan to be involved as much as they wanted to be.

Ethan, looking back now, appreciates his parents for that decision. He did talk to his friends and family about Tyler and later went to therapy. It helped. And as a 17-year-old (he’ll be 18 Feb. 3), he feels he is in about as good of a place mentally as ever.

“He’s gotten better at being OK with disappointing us,” Kelly said. “He needs to. I have to say to him, ‘It’s OK if you don’t want to say ‘yes’ to this. He’s gotten better at communicating and speaking up for himself a little bit more. He doesn’t talk about it a lot and he’s not really a crier.”

Ethan was not old enough to get a tattoo of Tyler’s initials when the rest of his family did in 2019. But after he turned 17, Ethan got the “T2” tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. It is just a symbol, though, an imprint Tyler left on Ethan. His brother’s perseverance is a topic that came up just this week in a conversation with his parents.

“If he can do this, I can do this,” Ethan said. “If he can fight through years of cancer, I can fight through this small task. I think about that.”

He also thinks about how football has played a big part in all of this. Tyler, the Purdue student and superfan, became a national story who impacted thousands of people on an October night four years ago. For Ethan, football was a release in the months after Tyler’s death.

“There were times where we felt apart at home,” he said. “At football, it was somewhere I could have that connection and pour my heart into it every single day. It was a release for me.”

Ethan does not know where life will take him. Sitting at his kitchen table in Carmel, he jokes with his parents they won’t know what to do when he heads off for Indiana State. But if he learned anything from his brother, it is to live with a purpose no matter what he does or where he goes.

Ethan remembers crying at Tyler’s funeral. But those who were there remember his words.

“Personally, God made my brother in a very special way,” Ethan said. “Tyler was selfless. He had a story to tell, but he was more interested in hearing everyone else’s stories. Tyler was very positive and caring. I always remember that whenever I was feeling down about myself, Tyler would encourage me and tell me how special God made me. He would share with me verses like Psalm 118:24: ‘This is the day that the Lord has made … rejoice and be glad in it.’ I’ll never forget how special God made my brother.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue superfan Tyler Trent's brother finding same comfort in football