Kyle Whittingham's Statement Following Tragic Utah Player Passing

Ty Jordan had an incredible freshman debut with the Utes. He was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 second-team by the league.

Utah Utes running back and Pac-12 Newcomer Of The Year Ty Jordan has tragically passed away. Utah Athletics confirmed the news on Saturday, December 26th. 

ESPN reported, "The Denton Police Department in Texas told ESPN that its officers responded to a shooting call at 10:38 p.m. ET on Friday. Officers discovered a gunshot victim who had been shot one time. After applying life-saving measures, the victim was transported to a local hospital."

"Following a preliminary investigation, we do believe that this was an accidental shooting, where the victim accidentally shot himself," said Denton Police Department public information officer Allison Beckwith."

Ty Jordan had an incredible freshman debut with the Utes. Jordan, was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 second-team by the league. The Texas native led the Utes in carries (83), rushing yards (597), rushing yards per game (119.4), rushing yards per carry (7.2), touchdowns (6) and all-purpose yards (723) this season.

Head coach of the Utah Utes, Kyle Whittingham released a statement saying that the program is 'devastated' over the news.

"Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, . Ty's personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us. He leaves an indelible mark on each of us and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, all of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace." (Whittingham)

Author Note: Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Utah Athletics and the Jordan family.

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Claudette Montana Pattison
CLAUDETTE MONTANA PATTISON