'Grateful for them': Ty Jordan, Aaron Lowe remain part of outgoing senior class at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – If pictures could talk.

In Sharif Shah's office inside the Utah football facility are two photographs of former Utes safety Aaron Lowe – smiling, of course.

For passers-by, especially without context, there are only two photos of a former athlete who has attended the event – not an uncommon sight in a football facility. But for Shah, those two photos are a reminder of the promise he made to keep Lowe safe while away from his home in Texas.

“When you are able to recruit a child, go to their house, sit with them, promise their parents and tell them that I am going to take care of your child; and at that moment, you are the one calling the mother, saying, 'Your baby has died,' Shah tried to control his emotions.

These photographs serve as a small reminder of Shah and Lowe's relationship before Lowe's tragic death in an early morning shooting in September 2021. They're also there to give Shah some perspective — even if the pain of that morning never goes away. .

“He's going to be very important to me for the rest of my life. He's been with me a lot,” Shah said. “I have two pictures of him in my office, and I talk to him like he's there. I'm like Aaron, I'm struggling, baby. I'm sure you need to smile, and he's just smiling at me. I said, OK, this A sign that I should stop crying and get up.”

And in a season where Utah has lost six straight games after being picked to win the Big 12 in the preseason poll, Shah has looked to those photos a lot for help. And each time, it's a reminder that life is bigger than football.

On Saturday, the University of Utah will once again honor the lives of Lowe and teammate Ty Jordan, who died nine months ago on Christmas Day, as part of a senior night celebration. Had the duo gone through their full playing eligibility, Saturday would have been their senior night as well.

It's a chance for Utah football to honor their fallen teammates — beyond retiring the No. 22 jersey and offering scholarships each season in their memory — that were part of the recruiting class when they both committed to Utah.

“I'm grateful and I'm humbled, because I'm still living and breathing,” an emotional junior Tafuna said while talking about the school with Lowe and Jordan at the senior festivities. “They're my class—all of us. You know, after this year, nobody's going to know who they are; and so, shoot, just love them. Grateful for them.”

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday that the families of both players will be in attendance, as are all other seniors honored before the game, and will have another chance to cheer on players who have gone too soon.

“Every time I think about it, it's very difficult and the hardest thing I've ever been through in my career, where dealing with players and those relationships; and it was just sad, absolutely sad,” Whittingham said. .

But the tragedy changed a unique and special tradition at Utah — the Moment of Loudness — that honors all Utes fans who died in the third and fourth quarters.

And even though the players that Lowe and Jordan knew personally will soon leave the program, graduate in life, or a select few will have the opportunity to play professionally, this is an opportunity to put perspective on the game.

“Some people bring you so much joy and commitment that you never know what they were brought into your life for — you don't know,” Shah said. “But that one, especially Aaron, I thank God for him.

“I thank God for him and I appreciate it every time we can recognize him and so many other Utes who died in the third to fourth quarter. I love that celebration; I love it. I think it's temporary from whatever happens in that game. Pause. I can only think about what's most important, and it's certainly not a football game.”

Utah will welcome No. 22 Iowa State to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday (5:30 p.m. MST, FOX), with senior night festivities taking place before kickoff.