Coach On Demario Harris Jr: ‘He Just Made Everybody Better’

 

It’s not the plays or the scoreboard that matter right now for Charles Henderson.

 

“I don’t think you can anticipate or expect anything easy, it’s going to be hard. Every day’s been hard,” said McCoy. 

 

Coach Brad McCoy and the Troy community know this Friday’s game will be a tough one. 

 

“He just made everybody better.” It will be the first game without Demario Harris Jr. who passed away after collapsing during last week’s game. 

 

“I’ve used words like consistent, humble just exactly what you want in a football player, in a son. Just exactly what we are looking for as coaches,” McCoy said. 

 

And he’s seen a lot of players in his 12 years of coaching. But in these past four month, “you just hate to get practice at stuff like this.” The team’s watched player Jacquerean Marshall recover after getting shot in the head a few months ago and now the passing of Demario. 

 

“We’ll push through together and I think that’s how we have to approach it,” he said. On how to approach their game against Sidney Lanier, well he says they are trying to do it #10’s way. 

 

“and it doesn’t means winning or losing, it just means approaching each and everyday with the right effort. With great effort, great intensity and just great teamwork,” he said. 

 

A balloon release will be held in Demario’s honor outside of the school Friday. One happy moment during all this sadness- Jacquerean is planning to attend Friday’s ceremony to help honor his former teammate.