Mario Hill reminded Tony Coaxum of himself.
Coaxum, a former Army cornerback, coached Hill at the same position in his senior season in 2009.
Hill always had a smile on his face throughthe good and tough times on and off the football field at West Point.
A message in May really hit home with Coaxum. Hill had died in a car accident in Lexington, Ky.
“I was heart broken,” Coaxum said. “I was extremely close to Mario. I saw so much me in him when I was a cadet.”
Army seniors dedicated the 2012 season to Hill and Chase Prasnicki, who killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan in June.
Coaxum has his own special tribute to Hill.
“The hat I wear every game I have his initials on it,” Coaxum said. “I will do that for rest of my coaching career. He meant a lot to me.”
Coaxum won two Army-Navy games as a freshman (1996) and junior (1998) in his career. Coaxum’s interception sealed the 1998 win.
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