The college football community was in a state of shock when news broke in regards to the death of the Utah Utes star running back. University officials announced his death on Saturday, December 26. Everyone was startled due to the fact that Ty Jordan had just completed a stellar freshman campaign. In a matter of months, he transitioned from a high school prospect to a college football star on the rise. News of his death was unexpected and hard to believe.Â
According to the Denton (Texas) Police Department, officers responded to a call on Christmas night at 9:38 p.m CST. They discovered a victim suffering from a single gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The victim would later be identified as Ty Jordan. His cause of death is listed as a “gunshot wound of the abdomen.” The authorities labeled the incident as a self-inflicted accidental gun discharge.Â
As a junior at West Mesquite High School, Ty Jordan had a breakout season as a junior when he rushed for 1,236 yards and 16 touchdowns. He won Co-District 7-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. During the course of his high school career, Jordan had 13 games of rushing over 100 yards. He also had an impressive career average of 7.5 yards per carry. The 5 foot 7 200 pound running back was also a member of the track team. In the 100-meter dash, he recorded a personal best of 10.52 seconds.Â
The combination of speed, power, and versatility made Ty Jordan a sought after all-purpose running back. Many college programs reached out to him as he had a total of 22 offers. Jordan had offers from power conference schools such as USC, Texas, Wisconsin, and Purdue. In the end, Ty Jordan chose to become a student-athlete at the University of Utah. In just five games, the 3-star recruit ran for 597 yards and six touchdowns. He made an immediate impact in his first collegiate game as he averaged 4.6 yards per carry versus USC. In his second game, he rushed for a total of 97 yards. In his last three games of the season.
Jordan rushed for over 100 yards in all three. In two of the final three games, Jordan ran for over 150 yards. His on-field production earned him the honor of being named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. He is the first Utah player to garner the conference freshman of the year recognition since the Utah Utes joined the Pac-12 Conference in 2010.
Ty Jordan had a promising college football career that was cut short by his untimely death. “He had an infectious smile. I mean, he just came into a room and lit it up and made us all feel better,” West Mesquite High School head football coach Jeff Neill said.
Apparently, that smile translated from high school to the college ranks as Jordan’s collegiate head coach Kyle Whittingham made a similar statement.Â
“Ty’s personality and smile were infectious, and he made a huge impact on our program in the short period of 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.”Â
