# @downinnadesert on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdVDkJbm2Qa
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70597319-downinnadesert-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c7abbb1d6b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-16T01:00:02.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Down In The Desert🌵 (@downinnadesert) — https://gondola.cc/downinnadesert

## Caption

A friendship that started on a high school football field in Mesa made it all the way to the NFL, but only one of them got to see it happen.

Jeremiah Aviles and Ja’Kobi Lane became close friends while playing together at Red Mountain High School, bonding over football, video games and everyday life.

Jeremiah was 18 and weeks away from graduating in May 2023. He had been accepted into ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business and planned to pursue business after high school.

He never got the chance.

On May 7, 2023, Jeremiah was at a teammate’s Mesa home when a firearm being handled by Peter Clabron III went off, striking him. Jeremiah passed away that night.

Clabron was charged with manslaughter, but more than three years later, following an 11-day trial, a jury found him not guilty.

While the case played out, Ja’Kobi kept moving forward with Jeremiah’s memory beside him.

Lane went from Red Mountain to USC, finishing with 1,363 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns before the Baltimore Ravens selected him 80th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Days before his NFL debut, Lane posted an old photo with Jeremiah. His Instagram bio still reads, “LONG LIVE JEREMIAH.”

Then came Sunday.

For the first time since her son passed away, Jeremiah’s mother watched an entire football game to see Ja’Kobi make his NFL debut.

Lane caught his first NFL pass for 11 yards and had a touchdown called back by penalty before suffering a fractured wrist that ended his debut early.

But for Jeremiah’s family, it was bigger than football.

One of his closest friends had made it from the same Mesa field they once shared to Sundays in the NFL, still carrying Jeremiah’s name with him more than three years later.

His family also continues his legacy through the Jeremiah Aviles Foundation, helping graduating student-athletes pursue college, trade school or entrepreneurship.

#Arizona #Mesa #NFL #RedMountain #HighschoolFootball

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 5,660
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 64

## Tags

redmountain, highschoolfootball, nfl, mesa, arizona

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