HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Those who knew Joseph Malcolm Bagwell know he put his whole heart into everything he did -- especially his faith and Auburn football -- even though that was medically impossible.

Joseph, 23, a student coach who died Saturday in Auburn just hours before the Tigers hosted LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium, was born with literally half a heart -- without a right ventricle. Joseph had three heart operations by the time he was 3 years old and had to monitor his heart and health, but never let that slow him down. His dream was always to coach a sport that his heart wouldn't allow him to play and he was on schedule to graduate next August in Health Promotion.

Visitation is Wednesday from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. with the funeral 2 p.m. at Trinity Methodist on Airport Road. Jim Brinkerhoff with Auburn Church of Christ and Chette Williams, chaplain for the Auburn football team, will assist with the service. Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery. The family is requesting friends wear Auburn colors -- Joseph's favorites -- to the service.

"It was Jesus first, Auburn second and studying third," his father, Joe D. Bagwell, a former advertising executive at The Times, said. "He wanted to make an impact at Auburn, whether as a water boy or assistant coach."

"It is a very heavy heart for myself and a lot of our players and a lot of our coaches right now," Auburn head football coach Gene Chizik, nearly in tears, said Saturday night immediately following the Tigers' 12-10 loss to LSU. Chizik also called Joseph's parents Sunday to offer condolences. "The young man, who was a student assistant with us in football, passed away shortly before the game unexpectedly, and it is very tragic. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family."

His heart made it impossible for him to suit up at Huntsville High School, but Joseph still served as football manager, keeping statistics and filming the game for former head coach Kevin Wieseman before graduating in 2008. Wieseman, now principal at Lee High School, said Joseph always kept up with plays in his special spiral notebook and cared about the players, encouraging them to always wear their equipment.

"He was the kind of kid who put everybody else before himself," Wieseman said. "He was limited because of his health conditions all his life, but if you walked into a room you could see he was interested in everybody other than himself.

"He was somebody our guys gravitated to. The fact he coached at Auburn shows you how strong he was to get in that position. It took a lot of guts and determination. That just shows you the kind of young man he was."

His dad said his son was always persistent, even asking former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville how to get involved with the team -- and for his cell phone number -- after a church service in Auburn. To no one's surprise, Joseph found a spot on the team, eventually helping Chizik and the coaches with special teams and the offensive line and earning himself a national championship ring in 2010.

"That championship) was the highlight of his career," his father said. "That and watching Cam (Newton) play. His plan was to graduate from Auburn, stay and work on his Masters and work for the team."

In 2007, Joseph's mother, Jennifer Tarkington, a professional photographer, started "Clicking for a Cause" because she and Joseph felt this was a way of giving back to their community. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts in memory of Joseph be made to the "Clicking for a Cause" fund at Huntsville Hospital Foundation, 101 Sivley Road, Huntsville, AL 35801.