Nolan Wells’ coaches are remembering the teen as a student-athlete who worked hard and went out of his way to make “other people feel good and accepted”After graduating high school, Wells went on to become a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, but his time with the team was cut short when his body was found earlier this monthSpeaking with PEOPLE, coach Earvin Moore remembers the last time he saw the promising young playerLast year, during an official football visit to Southwest Mississippi Community College that should have been his shining moment, Nolan Wells instead chose to share the spotlight with his little brother, according to one of the school’s football coaches.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEarvin Moore, the team’s wide receivers coach and general manager, remembers Wells’ younger brother watching with excitement and admiration as Wells tried on a team uniform. But Wells noticed his brother wanted to try one on, too.Without hesitation, Moore recalls, Wells asked, “Hey, coach, can he dress out, too?”Moore responded, “Sure.”“So we outfitted his little brother,” Moore tells PEOPLE. “Even in his moment, he shared it with others and allowed his little brother to be part of the official visit. That’s just who he was. He was unselfish.”After graduating from Ocean Springs High School, Wells went on to become a wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, but his time with the team was cut short.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn July 6, his body was found along the shore of Horn Island, off the Mississippi coast.Two days earlier, he had traveled by boat to the island with friends from high school in what those close to him say should have been one of his final weekends of summer fun before returning to campus for football training and summer classes.While law enforcement has said they believe Wells may have drowned and have found no evidence of foul play, they are still awaiting autopsy results and continuing to review evidence, including videos and witness statements. Meanwhile, Wells’ family has commissioned an independent autopsy and launched its own probe, publicly questioning claims he chose to remain on the island after his friends left.Nolan Wells and Earvin MooreCredit: Courtesy of Earvin Moore“Nolan was a genuine person,” says Les George, 42, the football team’s head coach. “You come across people in life that are just salt-of-the-earth, the kind who want to see the good in everyone and make other people feel good and accepted. That’s who Nolan was.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGeorge says Wells was the kind of teammate who celebrated others success as enthusiastically as his own.In the team’s season opener last year, George says, Wells didn’t get any reps.“But we remember Nolan celebrating the game just as much — if not more than — anyone else, and excited for everybody,” George says. “He was the type of kid who never
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