Several former University of Kentucky football players are raising money to help former Hopkinsville Tiger and UK Wildcat Ricky Abren build a new home.
During Friday’s Blue-White football scrimmage, Derek Abney and Keenan Burton were among the former players who asked the crowd to help raise money for Abren, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a 2016 accident.
Abren was a standout defensive lineman at Hopkinsville High School, helping the Tigers to a 44-12 record and four appearances in the state semifinals. He tallied 209 career tackles and 20 quarterback sacks in being named first-team All-State by the Louisville Courier Journal his junior and senior seasons in 2002-03.
Known for his strength and speed, Abren could bench press 400 pounds at Hoptown.
Abren accepted a scholarship to the University of Kentucky while the Wildcats were on probation from the Hal Mumme days and was a part of UK’s Music City Bowl win in 2006.
After graduating from UK in 2007 with a degree in Sociology, Abren worked as a residential counselor and married Terrisha two years later.
In 2012, Abren decided to take a job as a truck driver to financially provide for his growing family, which consists of four sons and a daughter.
On August 3, 2016, Abren was taking a load from Jacksonville, Florida to Alabama and stopped to see a friend in Tallahassee. During the visit, he fell from a second-story balcony at the apartment complex and was left paralyzed from the waist down from a spinal fracture.
Abren lives in Louisville, with family and friends looking to raise money for a new home that will allow him to raise his children in an environment that will provide easier mobility and accessibility.
The website www.hopeforrick.com has been established for anyone who wants to donate to Abren and his family in order to make his dream come true for Ricky and his family.