Jeremy Huber was bold enough to sneak into the locker room of the Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team to give the Blue Jays an HDMI cable, then sneak back in again to help set up a television.
He was persuasive enough to convince his suitemates to let him jump in front of them to play a quick video game — which he proceeded to play for the next three hours.
And as the salutatorian at West Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas, with an interest in cognitive science, he was nice enough to help anyone with calculus.
Those were some of the stories friends and teammates shared as they paid tribute to Huber, 18, who was found dead in his Hopkins dorm Monday morning. About 500 people gathered for a candlelight vigil that lasted about 30 minutes at Homewood Field on Thursday night to celebrate the life of the freshman defenseman on the men's lacrosse team.
Many stood before a giant video scoreboard with Jeremy Huber's name and picture under the words "Our Brother."
Members of the men's lacrosse team stood around his No. 19, painted behind the end line between the field and Cordish Lacrosse Center. The number will remain there for the 2015 season, and coach Dave Pietramala said no one will be allowed to wear Huber's jersey number until his class graduates in 2018.
"Jeremy is going to remain on our roster, he is going to remain in our media guide and he is going to remain on our website until his class graduates as it would have," Pietramala said, adding that he consulted with Jeremy Huber's parents, Robert and Nancy. "I know they are very thankful for that."
Nancy Huber pointed out that a dusting of snow that had fallen on the field would have delighted her eldest son. Robert Huber was stunned by the turnout.
"We knew he was a good kid [because] he was our kid," Robert Huber said. "But from the stories we have heard … I'm just amazed at how fast he got to know you guys."
Three students who knew Jeremy Huber best were his suitemates of Room 422 in Wolman Hall. Freshman midfielder Christopher Hubler said Huber never talked about feeling ill, injured or homesick.
"He did not want anyone to feel sorry or bad for him because he did not want anyone in a bad mood," Hubler said.
Freshman Samuel Bamigboye had teased Huber, an Ohio native, about being an Ohio State fan. "I think you deserve a pass today," Bamigboye said. "I love you, big guy, and rest easy."
Jorge Jimenez was the only suitemate who did not play lacrosse, but he said he was warmly accepted by the players. He shared a story of how the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Huber let Jimenez wear his coat, which reached Jimenez's knees.
Freshman midfielder Patrick Fraser did not live with the foursome, but was named an honorary member of the suite for the amount of time he spent there. Fraser said Huber, who enjoyed sitting in bed and watching "Family Guy" and "American Dad," once encouraged Fraser to apologize to Bamigboye after the two had argued.
"He was just so concerned with everybody being happy at all times," Fraser said.
Pietramala, who called Robert and Nancy Huber on Monday morning to tell them of their son's death, called the tragedy "the toughest thing that I've ever had to deal with as a coach."
"As you know there's no book for this," Pietramala said. "There's no book that says, 'Here's how you do it. Here's how you handle it.' Every individual handles these things differently, and it's been a challenge. It's a challenge we will overcome, and the way we'll overcome it is by the strength we're seeing from the Huber family. They are truly amazing people, and we're going to take their lead, and we're going to do what they're doing, and we're all going to be together. We're going to bond together and take care of one another and hopefully grow and come together in a really challenging situation."
Police do not suspect foul play, and the cause of Huber's death still is being investigated.