CHARLOTTE — Local legend Mo Collins was laid to rest Saturday. Friends, family and former players said goodbye to the former West Charlotte football coach after he passed away from an unexpected illness.
West Charlotte football coach dies suddenly
Hundreds trudged through dreary conditions to pay last respects to the man they called Big Mo.
Those he met during his football career with the Florida Gators and Oakland Raiders attended his funeral as well.
West Charlotte HS remembers coach Collins
"He was very down to earth. I think that's what everybody loved about him. He was the same Mo Collins that I knew in the fifth grade," said friend Calvin Brock.
Friends said that attitude is why he eventually came back to West Charlotte, becoming head coach in February.
[ Students, teachers remember West Charlotte head coach ]
"That job he just got at West Charlotte, he was doing great things. He had a vision. He had a passion," said family friend Samantha Bonds.
West Charlotte had already named its weight room after Collins, and said it will also rename its field house and field as a permanent reminder of the impact he had.
"Nothing is going to come easy, but the reward, look at his reward. That was his reward," Bonds said.
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