Utah to honor at least 25 seniors on Saturday, including Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe

At least 25 Utah football players will be honored during Saturday’s Senior Day game, including two very special honorees.
Cole Becker, Micah Bernard, Luke Bottari, Jack Bouwmeester, Josh Calvert, Van Fillinger, David Fotu, Alaka’i Gilman, JT Greep, Nick Howe, Falcon Kaumatule, Jaren Kump, Johnny Maea, Shintaro Mann, Munir McClain, Connor O’Toole, Money Parks, Karene Reid, Dorian Singer, Miki Suguturaga, Junior Tafuna, Zemaiah Vaughn and Charlie Vincent will all walk in a pregame ceremony ahead of Utah vs. Iowa State, the last game of the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Tight end Brant Kuithe, who was honored last year, chose not to walk during this year’s Senior Day. Quarterback Cam Rising, who is still mulling over whether he will return to Utah for the 2025 season, and tight end Caleb Lohner, who is a senior with no more eligibility left for football, are also not currently on the list of players who will walk during Saturday’s pregame festivities.
Many players in this year’s senior class were part of some of the highest highs in Utah’s history — winning back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022 — and are currently in the midst of one of the lower points the program has had on the field in quite a while.
“First of all, a lot of them, not all of them, but a lot of them, have been involved in a bunch of wins for us, a couple championships, and so very appreciative in that regard,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “… Tough year this year, no doubt about it. Tough year last year for that matter, but we were able to get quite a few more wins, obviously last year. But they’ve shown a lot of resiliency, a lot of character, a lot of toughness, and grateful to them for that and proud of them.”
Whittingham noted that all of the seniors have either already graduated with their degrees or are on track to graduate this spring.
“That’s why they’re here. Ultimately, that’s why you go to college is to get your degree and our guys take care of business in that regard,” Whittingham said.
For defensive tackle Junior Tafuna, who grew up in Taylorsville and was a key part of back-to-back Pac-12 championships, it hasn’t been the ideal ending to his college career, but it’s an experience he wouldn’t trade for anything.
“It was bittersweet, man, and that’s just being a Ute. You find every day that nothing’s going to be handed easy in life, and so it really is a life lesson coming here and I’m just grateful for it,” Tafuna said.
On Saturday, as each senior walks out one by one, surrounded by family members, the absence of two players will be deeply felt.
The families of running back Ty Jordan and cornerback Aaron Lowe — who died in 2020 and 2021, respectively — will be on hand as Utah honors its two fallen players in what would have been their senior year.
“Those two young men were terrific people, really good football players, great personalities. This would’ve been their senior year. That’s the reason that we’re honoring them,” Whittingham said. “Their family will be here and we’ll honor them as well. Every time I think about it, it’s very difficult and the most difficult thing I’ve ever gone through in my career as far as dealing with players and those relationships, and that was just absolutely tragic. Absolutely tragic.”
The University of Utah has honored the lives of Jordan and Lowe in numerous ways since their passing at a young age, including retiring their No. 22 jersey and setting up a memorial scholarship and selecting a recipient “who exemplifies the inspiring qualities Ty and Aaron demonstrated.” This year’s selection was receiver Money Parks.
Utah also implemented the “Moment of Loudness” tradition, which celebrates Jordan’s and Lowe’s lives and the lives of all Utah fans that have passed away.
Saturday’s Senior Day ceremony will be another opportunity for Utah to remember two players that meant so much to the program.
“I’m grateful and I’m humbled just because I’m still living and breathing. They’re my class. After this year, no one’s going to know who they are … Just love them. Grateful for them,” an emotional Tafuna said.
Cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah, who coached Lowe, continues to spend time with Lowe’s mother, Donna, and says a season doesn’t go by when he doesn’t talk to her.
“He will mean so much to me for the rest of my life. He is with me through so much. Two of his pictures are in my office and I talk to him like he’s there. I’m like, ‘Aaron, I’m struggling, baby. I sure would need your smile,’ and he’s smiling at me. I said, OK, that’s a sign that I need to quit crying and get up,” Shah said.
The “Moment of Loudness” is a cathartic one for so many fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but especially for the players and coaches that knew Lowe and Jordan so deeply. Saturday will be the final time this season that it is held, and Shah and the rest of the team will cherish not only the Senior Day ceremony to honor the two players, but the moment right before the fourth quarter.
“You’re touched by some folks in your life. Some people bring such a level of joy and commitment to you that you never know what they were brought in your life for. You just don’t know,” Shah said.
“But that one, Aaron in particular, I thank God for him. I thank God for him and I appreciate him every time we’re able to recognize him and so many other Utes that have passed away in the middle of the third to the fourth quarter. I love that celebration. I do. It’s a temporary pause from whatever may be happening in that game that I can just reflect on what matters the most, and it’s certainly not a football game.”