Jerrell Boykins Jr. has had to overcome unimaginable adversity in his short 17 years.
When Boykins was 5, his father died of a rare liver disease at the age of 25. His mother, Demetria Smith, died in her sleep of a heart attack when he was 15.
"It was hard. I cried for close to two years straight," Boykins said of his father's passing. "I didn't know what to do, and my mom tried her hardest to explain to me about what was going on."
A University of Arkansas defensive line target, Boykins is a senior at East Ascension High School in Gonzales, La.