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Lori Prichard and the AP reportingOne University of Utah football player remains in the hospital tonight after he and two other people were stabbed Saturday night.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff's office wouldn't talk to us on camera tonight, but it did say investigators don't have a lot to go on, leaving them "at a loss." They don't have any idea who stabbed the three athletes.
One of the Ute's most promising freshman players, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound freshman defensive lineman Paul Kruger, was stabbed in the stomach, his father told The Salt Lake Tribune. He underwent surgery after the attack and is now listed in fair condition.
The Kruger family had announced a press conference today but later canceled it. Instead, Kruger released a statement saying, "I feel good about my improvement. I'm looking forward to being back in school with my team."
He went on to say, "It was a scary situation. I was with my sister, brother and friends, and you don't expect that to happen."
"That" was an attack, reportedly by a group of people who jumped out of their cars and began assaulting Paul, his brother David and another player, junior Greg Newman. All three were walking down a street after leaving a party.
According to a statement released by Coach Kyle Whittingham, it was "...a classic example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Whittingham also said, "It appears that our players are on the road to recovery, and for that we are very grateful."
The younger Kruger, David, was a star at Orem's Timpview High and has orally committed to play for the Utes. David's cuts did require some stitches.
Greg Newman, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound junior from Thousand Oaks, Calif., suffered two four-inch stab wounds in his side. He is recovering at home.
"I'm grateful that they didn't hit anything serious and that I'll be able to go back to school in a few days and back working out in a few weeks," Newman said.
The sheriff's office tell us investigators did find a cell phone in the area. They believe that phone has information stored on it that may help them with the case. They say they will pick up the investigation tomorrow.
The stabbing is not being connected to a house party the three left late Saturday.
"We don't believe they were stabbed at the party, but a half-block away at the corner, where they had some kind of confrontation with people who drove by," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Jaroscak said Monday.
"Those people then got out of the car and assaulted" the three, he said.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what led to the fight and who did the stabbing.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
