​Before Isaiah Hazel found his passion for football, his mother had envisioned a different path for him. “I honestly thought that he was going to be a minister because that was his thing,” Brenda Hazel said. “He knew how to minister to people, to individuals, just because that’s what he wanted to do. You didn’t have to ask him for advice. That’s just who he was.” Yet football would soon claim most of Isaiah’s time and attention. The Upper Marlboro native, a graduate of Henry A. Wise, played collegiately at Maryland and Charlotte, where the wide receiver-turned-defensive back pursued opportunities to try out for the United Football League. Tragically, he died in a three-vehicle collision on July 6, 2024, along with friends Khyree Jackson, a Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback, and Anthony Lytton, Jr., a cornerback who played for Florida State and Penn State.
In the wake of the tragedy, Brenda and Aaron Hazel established the Isaiah Lee Hazel Foundation to provide financial support through scholarships to students confronting financial and learning challenges. On June 26—eleven days after what would have been Isaiah’s 26th birthday—the organization awarded its first scholarship to Joshua Simmons, a redshirt sophomore defensive tackle for Maryland. The award, valued at $2,000, is designated to help cover meal expenses for the 2026-27 academic year. Simmons said he only learned he was the recipient a few days before the announcement. “It means so much to me,” he said. “What really matters is being able to represent Isaiah’s name and carry forward his legacy. That means the most to me, knowing that the family chose me to serve and live out his legacy.”
Maryland coach Michael Locksley, who was on vacation at the time, issued a statement through team spokesman Jerry Rodriguez. “Isaiah was one of my first recruits at Maryland, and from the moment he arrived, you could feel the energy he brought to the program,” Locksley said. “What his family is building through this foundation is a powerful reflection of who Isaiah was, and we’re proud to support their mission.”
Monday marked the two-year anniversary of the day the car Isaiah was driving was struck by another vehicle that abruptly changed lanes at a high rate of speed. Cori Clingman, 25, was sentenced in February to three years in prison after pleading guilty last fall to three counts of negligent homicide while under the influence. The Hazels remain haunted by the loss, though time has offered some measure of relief.
“I don’t like to think of my son in the past tense, and I don’t speak of him in the past tense now,” Brenda Hazel said. “But starting this foundation and being able to talk about who my son is, it’s been healing. It was really hard getting it going because I knew I was talking about someone who’s no longer with us.” The Hazels say Isaiah understood how fortunate he was, and he often wondered why his peers ended up with fewer opportunities. They hope the foundation will widen those opportunities for others who face similar hurdles while keeping Isaiah’s spirit alive in every endeavor they undertake in his name.