Cal U football player who died of Covid in September was the son of a former Steeler first-round pick, a gregarious, popular young man: “The light of my life”
… “We took the risk”
This lineman was a big guy, about 6-5, 350+ pounds, but off the field, he was a gentle giant, a guy whom everyone loved.
So, when he passed away from Covid-19 in September despite the fact that his team’s season had been put off until the spring of 2021, the reaction of those who knew him was predictable, describing his smile and outsized personality as his defining characteristics.
Just out of his teens, the young man has passed, and as far as most can tell, he is the only college football player to pass away from the pandemic.
And his family, coaches, and friends are devastated.
Pittsburgh Central Catholic grad
A story in Sports Illustrated outlined the devastation at the time of his death when college football programs across the country were trying to determine whether or not to have a season,
Jamain Stephens wore a size-19 shoe, could deadlift 635 pounds at the ripe age of 14 and could palm an iPad withe one hand. Stephens, listed at 355 pounds, was immovable as a nose guard and athletic enough to play fullback in goal-line packages, even once scoring a touchdown from two yards out.
But even bigger than his massive frame and football stardom was his personality—a smile-wearing, people-loving guy whom everyone flocked toward.
“The best way for me to explain him is that he was a one-of-a-kind person,” says David Adams, a high school teammate with Stephens at the Pittsburgh-based football powerhouse Central Catholic. “You won’t find another person like Jamain.”
Now, he’s gone at the age of 20—a week after he told Adams and other former high school classmates that he had tested positive for COVID-19. His death stunned his high school and college communities. He was set to be a senior defensive lineman this year at California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II school about 35 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Ross Dellenger, “'A Shock to Us': On D-II Player Jamain Stephens's Life
and Unexpected Death,” Sports Illustrated, September 9, 2020
Nicknamed “Juice,” guy with an “electric personality”
The SI story detailed how Stephens was beloved by so many and then had a negative reaction after contracting Covid,
Meanwhile, communities in Pennsylvania are in mourning for a man known by the nickname of Juice. “He was a very big guy and he had this enormous personality,” says Terry Totten, football coach at Central Catholic. “He was very athletic for his size. Good feet and a lot of different skills. Whether in a meeting or locker room or in school, he had an electric personality that drew people to him. The world has lost a great person.”
Totten says Stephens spent time in the hospital recently and had shown signs of improvement before “the bottom fell out.” During high school, Stephens lived with his mother, Kelly, in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Totten says. His father was a first-round pick in the 1996 NFL draft for the Steelers.
At California University, Stephens served as a reserve defensive lineman. He lived in an off-campus apartment complex called Vulcan Village, but he was not recently involved in any football activities, says Karen Hjerpe, the athletic director at the school. The football team is holding no in-person events this semester and is conducting any meetings virtually, says head coach Gary Dunn. All football fields and the weight room are closed, Hjerpe says.
Dunn described Stephens’s death as “a shock to us.”
“His personality is one that always stood out,” says Hjerpe. “He was such a very well-liked individual by everyone on campus. As news of his death started, we got a lot of emails and comments of how nice he was and always had a smile and went out of his way to help everyone.”
Ross Dellenger, “'A Shock to Us': On D-II Player Jamain Stephens's Life and Unexpected Death,” Sports Illustrated, September 9, 2020
Parents struggled with everything
Jamain’s parents, Kelly Allen and Jamain Stephens, a number 1 pick of the Steelers in the 1996 NFL draft, were trying to place his death in perspective,
"He was literally the light of my life," Stephens' mother, Kelly Allen, told CBS News' Nikki Battiste. "Just an infectious personality, an infectious smile, and just a good guy to his core" …
Stephens was a defensive lineman at California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II school that suspended all fall sports competition in July.
His mother said Stephens returned to school in part to work out with his teammates.
He died in early September. Although his cause of death has not been disclosed, Stephens' family said he died of a blood clot to the heart after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Grieving parents share warning as more colleges mull football season:
‘We took the risk’,” CBS News, September 15, 2020
His father was questioning his decision to allow him to return to campus to work out for the spring season,
"Sports give us a release. Right. You know, it gives us freedom from all of this drama… we are not in a state of mind with it all to make the right decision," Stephens said. "And as you know, we're sitting here right now talking about the loss of my son because we took the risk."
“Grieving parents share warning as more colleges mull football season:
‘We took the risk’,” CBS News, September 15, 2020
Parents may second-guess those decisions, but he was happy with his teammates even if they were not doing any workouts for the school.
That is so difficult for parents.
Cowher defended drafting Stephens — until 1999
When Bill Cowher drafted the elder Jamain Stephens with the 29th selction in 1996, many were shocked. He played at North Carolina A&T, and he never played offensive line until halfway through his junior season.
However, since he was listed at 6-6, 336 pounds in college, and because Cowher thought that he saw something special in the young man, the Steeler coach went against the wishes of his personnel people and drafted him in 1996, calling his a “project” player.
That support led to his starting ten games in 1998 after he failed to win the starting position in camp. When Justin Strzelczyk was injured, Stephens had his opportunity, but just did not impress the coach.
Then when Stephens showed up about 50 pounds overweight for training camp in 1999 and could not finish the running regimen that Cowher had outlined for his players, the coach pulled the plug,
Tackle Jamain Stephens' performance never matched his talent level, but it was his inability to finish a simple camp-opening running test that finally caused the Steelers to lose patience with him.
The Steelers last night released their first-round draft choice from 1996, hours after he quit from exhaustion during a set of 40-yard dashes …
The huge offensive tackle, who started 10 games last season because of injuries and was listed as the starting right tackle entering camp, was so out of shape that he nearly collapsed on the 11th of 14 scheduled 40-yard runs. He was the only player who failed to complete them in an individual performance one scout called embarrassing.
Stephens, who paced his group in similar drills to open camp last summer, sat down after the 11th run. After his teammates gathered around him and urged him to continue, he got up and barely walked through two other 40-yarders with their encouragement, all the while ignoring Cowher's shouts of "everyone up," signaling the end of practice.
"He certainly isn't anywhere near where he was a year ago," Cowher said after practice. "So, that was very disappointing."
Stephens is listed on the roster as 6-5, 330 pounds but looks much heavier.
Ed Bouchette, “Stephens released: Out-of-shape lineman angers Cowher
when he fails to complete running test,” Post-Gazette, July 31, 1999
Rest In Peace, Jamain Stephens.
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