"It's been a ride," Byrd said. "I follow Joe everywhere he goes and everywhere he's been, leaving Green Bay and going to Cleveland and then from Cleveland back to the Saints, from the Saints back to Green Bay, and from Green Bay to here. And so, our coach has a group chat and would keep us updated, and you could send him some words of encouragement.

"It was one of our guys from a small school in a small town who was a getting a shot and taking advantage of it. Plenty have come and gone, but Joe has always been the guy. He was the perfect person for the situation. He was talented and super humble, so it was fun, and it still is."

In his redshirt freshman season of 2011, Byrd was paired together with Callahan, a true freshman at the time, to play for Wesley's JV team against Coppin State in Maryland. Byrd had battled a hamstring injury for most of the season, so it took time for the two to garner chemistry.

"Joe and I were the only ones who knew the playbook in and out because we both had studied it for so much time. And in that game, they started letting Joe call audibles, so Joe actually audibled me into an eight-man blitz that got my helmet snapped off," Byrd laughed as he recalled the memory.

"We took a beating, but we had to get back to practice the next day. In college, the JV games are on Sundays, so all the young guys travel Sunday and get back to the grind Monday."

Callahan was sidelined for 2012 due to injury, so 2013 was the only full season the two had together. The Wolverines opened on a tear, winning five of their first six games including a 40-0 victory over Virginia-Lynchburg.

"In the first game, Joe comes out firing for 500-plus yards and like four or five touchdowns," Byrd said. "Joe was throwing it so well, and as the season progressed, we started making a name for ourselves, winning and traveling across the country."

Wesley beat Johns Hopkins and Ithaca in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament before traveling to Alliance, Ohio to take on Mount Union in the quarterfinals.

"We got out there and at halftime, we're down like 21-0 or something, then Joe started throwing it and we were still down four or five scores in the fourth quarter," Byrd said. "Joe in the last five minutes throws two touchdowns that are over 70 yards, and we ended up losing that game by three points, 62-59, but Joe kept us in it.