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College football player dies after contracting COVID-19

Conference had canceled school's football season in July
College football player dies after contracting COVID-19
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Jamain "Juice" Stephens, a college football player at California University of Pennsylvania, has died of complications from COVID-19, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and NBC Sports. He was 20 years old.

California University of Pennsylvania confirmed Stephens' death in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

"Jamain was such a wonderful student with a smile on his face every time you saw him," the school's athletic director, Dr. Karen Hjerpe, said. "His personality was contagious and he made such a positive impact on everyone he met."

Stephens was a graduate of Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, who also confirmed his death in a statement.

Damar Hamlin, a safety at Pitt and a fellow Central Catholic grad, remembered Stephes in a memorial tweet.

"Cherish y'all brothers while they still here & PLEASE continue to take this virus seriously," Hamlin said.

Stephens was a senior at the school. He played in 32 games for Cal U between 2017 and 2019, including every game of the Vulcans' last two seasons.

Cal U is part of the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). In July, the PSAC announced it was canceling its 2020 fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cal U is currently conducting classes entirely through remote learning this fall.

Stephens' death comes as some NCAA Division I conferences open their football seasons this week.

Baylor has already postponed its season opener against Louisiana Tech due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the team. That was had been scheduled to take place on Saturday.

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Nick Walters

Nick Walters

Senior Sports Reporter

Alex Eschelman

Alex Eschelman

Sports Multimedia Journalist

Taylor Rocha

Taylor Rocha

Sports Multimedia Journalist

Rochelle Richards

Rochelle Richards, senior sports producer

Rochelle Richards

Senior Sports Producer