Garenn Figueroa, the 15-year-old-boy from Palmdale who suffered from
bone cancer and whose name was inked on Mark Sanchez’s eye-black
earlier this season, died over the weekend.
Here’s a statement from Sanchez:

“I was so, so sad to hear about Garenn’s passing. My heart goes out
to his family. He was such a neat kid and a real Trojan fan. It was
a privilege to get to know him.

“My teammates, coach Carroll and I all cherished the opportunity we
had to play a small part in his life and to help him deal with his
situation. The time we had with him was as valuable to us as we hope
it was for him. We talk about competing here at USC all the time and
Garenn epitomized that philosophy. He competed fiercely against his
disease and lived longer than many predicted he would.

“I know Garenn would want us to do what he always did, and that’s
live the Trojan spirit and fight on.”