SUNDAY NIGHT: It was Thursday night that Jasper Howard and Jordan Todman joined me in the TV studio at the Burton Family Football Complex for the Coaches Show. It was 20 of the best minutes of the season. We joked about Jaz growing his hair out, the snow that day and what was a kid from Miami doing in Storrs, who was faster, etc. Two outstanding young men.
And now, today, tragically, one of them is gone. Jasper was stabbed to death after an altercation early this morning after a dance on campus. We don't know the details. They do not matter. What does matter is a young man has had his life taken away at the tender age of 20.
Jasper came to UConn from the Little Haiti section of Miami where he saw drugs and death as a youngster. He didn't get detered from his goal, to escape that environment, get a college eduction, perhaps play professional football and provide for his mother and sisters. I remember Randy Edsall telling the media that because of the tough environment Jazz grew up in, he had to take a different approach at times in coaching him. But eventually, (and it didn't take long) Jasper became one of the most valuable members of the Huskies.
At today's press conference, Desi Cullen spoke for six spellbinding minutes about the love of his teammate, his heartbreak over Jasper's death and what it means to be a member of the team. Desi was eloquent while choking back the tears with his head coach standing next to him. If you ever wondered why Desi was a co-captain, today was evidence why. Another example of how student athletes grow into mature young men and women.
Most telling was Desi's line about learning from Coach Edsall that Jasper's girlfriend was pregnant. Desi said "I can promise him and his family, that son or daughter will have 105 uncles for the rest of its life".
The Huskies will try and go about the buisness of getting ready to play this weekend at West Virginia but it won't be the same. One of their brothers has been taken from them and that is the hardest lesson that any college student can learn.
Rest in Peace Jasper, thanks for coming into our lives.
