were on his basketball team. >> coach walks in and he says dennis has passed away. >> dennis hernandez, aaron's father, his anchor, died unexpectedly after routine hernia surgery. >> felt uncomfortable to see him so hurt. >> clearly at 16 years old, losing your father, it would be very easy to fall into the lifestyle of following people that don't help you make the best choices. >> one choice he made was to tattoo some of his dad's advice on his arms. >> this is a quote my father always used to give me. if it is to be, it is up to me. basically whatever i want my life to be, it is up to me to make it out that way. >> what he wanted to be was an nfl football star. so in january of 2007, he cut his high school senior year in half and headed to the university of florida, joining