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Texts in the middle of the night. Frantic phone calls. The message: His teammates had been shot.
Gionni Paul wasn't wondering when they'd be back with the team. He wasn't wondering when they'd play again. His fears leapt to the darkest possible scenario.
"I grew up down South. When you hear somebody got shot, next day might be the funeral," the senior Utah linebacker said. "When I heard that, I just thought the worst. But finding out those guys were OK, it put relief in my heart."
Sunday was a dark day for the Utes after sophomore tight end Lo Falemaka and freshman running back Marcel Brooks-Brown were shot Saturday night at a party near the U. campus. But while players and coaches were still reeling Monday after spending a chunk of the weekend in hospital hallways, the overwhelming feeling was one of relief.
"The bottom line there is we're very, very fortunate and blessed they're OK," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It could've been a lot worse. It could've been a lot worse."
A rookie from Rio Linda, Calif., Brooks-Brown was released from the hospital by Sunday afternoon, and Whittingham said he might rejoin the team this season. Falemaka, a Cottonwood alum and former walk-on, may be released later this week and might not play football this year.
Neither player has been a significant contributor to the 2-0 Utes thus far. Falemaka played a special teams role, and Brooks-Brown was awaiting his college debut. But that's beyond the point, Paul said.
"They weren't really big name guys, but to us, we got 120 guys on the team that all contribute to our wins," he said. "So when players go down, it kinda puts a burden on us. But we're gonna go out there and play this game for them."
Saturday's game against Fresno State will be on the road.
During Monday afternoon's media session, the players fielded questions about parties and how they try to keep themselves out of ugly situations.
It's tricky, they're willing to admit.
"Try to stay away from knuckleheads," quarterback Kendal Thompson said. "There's nothing you can do about it. There's going to be guys out there like that, and that's outside of your control."
Paul said he wasn't present at the party at a house on 1300 East, just a few blocks from Rice-Eccles Stadium, but he said he heard other athletes were present. The three suspects in the shooting were party crashers who were asked to leave.
Since becoming a father during his college career, Paul said he's less likely to stay out late. He advises his teammates to do the same: "Bullets don't have anybody's name on them. Anybody can get hurt on any given day."
Whittingham said he's told his players "six- or seven-thousand times," but said he would reiterate the talk again during a Monday team meeting. He also expected the administration support if any players required counseling.
"Our team gives constant reminders to the players stay out of bad situations and make good decisions — I think that's pretty common with any football team," he said. "It's something we address ad nauseam."
Ultimately, the Utes are grateful that both are alive and expected to fully recover. Defensive end Kylie Fitts was at UCLA when receiver Nick Pasquale was hit by a car and killed in 2013.
It can be a rallying point for a team in games, but that doesn't lessen the devastation of losing a teammate altogether.
"That was even more tragic, losing someone," Fitts said. "It's always hard as a team dealing with something like that."
The three assailants remain at large since fleeing the scene of the party, where they were described as unwelcome guests by police. An SLCPD spokesman said police had not yet arrested anyone in relation to the shooting as of Monday afternoon.
Witnesses told police that all of the men appeared to be in their 20s. Two of the men were black: one was 6-foot wearing a red bandana under a baseball cap with a red shirt, and one was 5-foot-9 with dreadlocks under his baseball cap with a red shirt. The third man was white and heavyset with a beard.
Anyone with information on the case can call SLCPD at 801-799-3000.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
No. 21 Utah at Fresno State
O Saturday, 8:30 p.m. MDT
TV • CBS Sports Network