SFA football team busing to Graylan Spring’s celebration of life services Sunday

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - The Stephen F. Austin football team and coaches are preparing to head to Austin Sunday to attend Graylan Spring’s celebration of life services. Spring is one of the two SFA students who were killed in a car crash in Corrigan almost two weeks ago.

On Sunday, his celebration of life service is taking place in Austin, and Head Football Coach Colby Carthel said almost all of the staff and team are headed down for the service.

“We’re traveling down and taking the buses. We’re going to go down there and just take part of that celebration with his family and friends and his high school team. And, just spend a few hours with them, just celebrating such a wonderful young man,” Carthel said.

Senior Tkai Lloyd, teammate of Spring, said they want to be there to support the family through this tough time.

“You know, it’s something that is a lot bigger than us as a team, and we know that Graylan would be there for any of us if he still had the opportunity to,” Lloyd said.

Carthel said the whole team will be wearing their purple jerseys during the service. He said his team is in different stages of grieving this loss.

“Everybody’s got kind of a different road to deal with in this, but as a team, I know it’s heavy on our hearts,” Carthel said.

Carthel said they felt like it was important to provide this opportunity to go to the celebration of life.

“I think it’s something that needs to be done, and so that’s why we’re putting the resources behind it,” Carthel said.

Carthel said they have been honoring Spring in their off-season workouts.

“We end workouts in 11 perfect 5′s. He was number 11, so we’re doing several things like that in terms of our off-season program in increments of 11 to remember Graylan,” Carthel said.

Lloyd said they have done this workout for years and almost never get it right on the first try.

“When we did that in honor of Graylan, we knocked it out the first time, and we were really psyched we got to do that for him,” Lloyd said.

Graylan Spring’s memorial will take place Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Austin Ridge Bible Church.

Micah McAfoose, the other student killed in the crash, will have his memorial service Saturday at 2:22 p.m. at Cypress Bible Church in Houston.

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