Utah renames spring game in honor of late teammates

Usually the spring game in college football is an opportunity to knock some rust off. It's a time to get some of the underclassmen experience playing in front of people and for coaches. It's the beginning of an evaluation period that will eventually translate over to the two-deep.

The spring game at Utah will take on a deeper meaning, though. Utah recently announced that the annual spring game is going to be renamed the "22 Forever Game" in honor of two players the program lost: Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe.

Lowe, a sophomore cornerback, was killed in a shooting in September 2021. Jordan, a running back, had died less than a year before him due to an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. Jordan wore the No. 22 for the Utes, and Lowe had switched his number to 22 in honor of his high school and college teammate.

The No. 22 was retired by the Utes after both players' deaths, but now the program is taking it further by renaming the spring game.

"The Utah Football program was met with two tragedies within 10 months of each other in 2020 and 2021, but out of those tragedies, a legacy was born. To be infectiously optimistic, to be 22-percent better every day, to remember them and all of those that we have lost – and to smile," Utah wrote on its website.

"22-percent is a reminder not to take life for granted and to make the most out of every day. Aaron and Ty lived life with a smile, even when it may have been painful to do so. Their legacy is an example of competitive excellence filled with an immense amount of gratitude for the simple things, and because of them, I fight to improve every day," defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley added on.

Fittingly, the game will be held on the April 22.