Jaylon McKenzie was an exceptional football talent and an even better young man. At just 14 years old, McKenzie had been featured in Sports Illustrated and was already being offered scholarships by a plethora of schools. As a running back and a wide receiver, it was believed that McKenzie could dominate the game for years to come and eventually make it to the NFL. Unfortunately, tragedy struck this past weekend when McKenzie was leaving a house party. Shots were fired when a fight broke out at the event with stray bullets hitting McKenzie and a female friend. McKenzie was rushed to hospital but eventually succumbed to his injuries.
McKenzie was a big fan of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and according to TMZ, the Cowboys superstar will actually pay for the funeral.
"For him to reach out to me was unbelievable," McKenzie's mother Sukeena Gunner said. "Jaylon loved Ezekiel Elliott. He talked about him all the time. Just for him to reach out to me and help me in this difficult time leaves me speechless."
When news first broke of McKenzie's death, Gunner spoke to the media where she spoke about her son and all the big dreams he had. It was obvious to everyone in the community that Jaylon was somebody with a bright future.
“It’s so hard to fathom that someone took my baby from me because he dreamed so big,” McKenzie's mom Sukeena Gunner told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I can just remember him coming into my room and telling my husband to call his name. ‘We have a 5-6 running back, Jayyyyy-lonnnn MacKenzieeee.’ And he would run into the room after his name was called.”