Houston Baptist University remembers its fallen former football star
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Days after Houston Baptist University's former football star was found dead, the community came together to grieve.
For more than an hour, coaches, friends, and former classmates shared memories that brought both tears and laughs.
"Every time he saw me he would say, 'What's up big Sammy?' I'm like, 'Garrett you're like twice my size,'" a former teammate said.
On Sunday, Houston police believe Garrett Dolan fell to his death. He was discovered on a fourth-floor apartment courtyard.
On the roof, officers found clothes and alcohol.
On Wednesday afternoon, the focus wasn't on the incident but about the man who touched people's lives.
"You could see that he left his heart on the field," former teammate Hunter Barron said. "Blood, sweat and tears. He loved us. He loved his team. He loved to compete and he loved to become better and he made us all better."
"Garrett meant an awful lot to our team, but also personally to me. He was a phenomenal person to be around," former teammate Jonathan Fleming said. "Great heart."
Dolan was the first all-American football player in HBU's history.
During the service, his family received his jersey.
The school's president says Dolan's death causes him more anguish than the loss of any other former student.
Mainly because there are unanswered questions.
His friends last saw him at a Midtown bar Sunday morning. Dolan's body was discovered hours later.
An autopsy is underway to learn more about how Dolan died.
An answer that grieving friends hope will solve what happened to a man they called invincible.
"All we can do is trust the Lord and understand that all things that happen in our lives, that he works for the good of those that love Him," Fleming said.
