CHESAPEAKE, Va - A former Indian River High School football player, gone too soon.
A candlelight vigil was held Friday night for 24-year old Jaquan Yulee, who died Tuesday night after his car flipped on its roof in Suffolk.
"To go through this, I wouldn’t wish it on nobody," Fred Yulee, Jaquan's father, said.
Family members, friends and former classmates lit candles and released balloons in the sky to honor Jaquan and his legacy beyond what he did on the football field as a linebacker.
Former football coaches at Indian River say they remember Jaquan’s smile that could light up any room.
"His infectious spirit he had. He was always a guy to bring a smile on your face, even when you were getting on him about something he did in practice. He would still do something to make you laugh or smile as a coach. You just don’t get that all the time," TJ Lee, Jaquan’s former football coach, said.
A close friend and former teammate says Yulee brought him closer to God.
"He lifted me up spiritually and I had to take notes from the things he was giving me because I didn’t have anyone like that to really sit down and talk to me. What I learned from him was that no matter what obstacle is coming your way in life, always stay positive in life and pray to God. That’s how I got closer to God," Romon Copleand Jr. said.
Jaquan, often wearing the number 2 on his jersey, was a top recruit in his high school senior class before he went on to play for Marshall University.
"It’s a funny story how he started wearing the number two. When I saw him, I just walked past him and I said, 'What number you want?' He started laughing and he was like, 'Five,' and I said, 'No, I’m going to give you the number two.' I said, 'You got to be special to wear that number two,'" Marcus Ferebee, Jaquan's former football coach at Indian River High School, said.
Jaquan’s father says today would been the day he announced that he was transferring to Virginia State University.
"He said, 'I want to do a video tomorrow while I’m working out where I announce what I want to do, and we go show it on Friday at noon on my lunch break.'"
Jaquan's funeral will be at King's Fork High School on July 23 at 1 p.m.
