Amid bedroom walls scattered with football jerseys, track medals and football recruiting posters sits a backplate from a pair of shoulder pads.
Written in black sharpie on the off-white, sweat-stained, peeling tape covering the padding is, simply, “R.I.P. Marcus.”
Missouri wide receiver Jalen Knox wore this underneath his jersey as a junior in high school.
Below the backplate is a photoshopped poster, thumb-tacked to the wall of his Arlington bedroom. At first glance, it looks like a generic picture with three images of Knox playing football. But between the two outer figures is another of him pointing up at the clouds to a younger man crouching down with a soft smile, dressed in a red tank top and faded blue jorts — his uncle, Marcus.