I hope Dwayne Haskins knew how much he was loved. How happy just seeing his bright smile made people who got to see it. How Pittsburgh children were probably deeply impacted by a member of the beloved Steelers saying he had worries, too.
I hope he knew that he was so much more than his talents, than his career, than football.
Based on some stories that have come out since Haskins' death on Saturday, it seems that last part was true. Haskins was human first and foremost, a kind young man who freely gave his time to charitable events, an introvert who made a name for himself playing the position where the spotlight is brightest, someone who insisted on embracing a reporter and praying for her when she was in tears over her grandmother's recent death and trying to do it inconspicuously, away from the busy locker room.