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Utah football retiring No. 22 worn by late former Utes Aaron Lowe, Ty Jordan

Aaron Lowe #2 of the Utah Utes looks on before their game against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on November 28, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
Aaron Lowe died after being shot in September. (Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

Utah football announced on Tuesday that it is retiring jersey No. 22 to honor Aaron Lowe and Ty Jordan.

Lowe and Jordan both wore No. 22 while playing for Utah. The high school friends and teammates from Mesquite, Texas died via gunshot wounds nine months apart in the past year.

Jordan, a running back, died on Dec. 26, 2020 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound that was ruled accidental. He was 19 years old. He had recently been named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year after tallying 723 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in five games during 2020's pandemic-shortened season.

Utah set up the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship in his honor after his death. Lowe was the scholarship's first recipient for the 2021 season. A sophomore cornerback, he switched his jersey number from 2 to 22 to honor his fallen friend.

Lowe killed, buried next to Jordan

Lowe died on Sept. 21 after being shot at a Salt Lake City-area house party. Police later arrested 22-year-old Buk M. Buk on multiple charges related to Lowe's death including aggravated murder. He was buried next to Jordan in their hometown of Mesquite.

Utah plans to honor both players with a jersey-retirement ceremony during Saturday's home game against UCLA. It will be the first jersey number retired in program history. The program has also created a separate Aaron Lowe Memorial Scholarship in addition to Montgomery's. Per the school, the scholarships "will be given to current Utah Football players each year who exemplify the qualities of Jordan and Lowe."

The entire conference joined in to honor the players, too, by painting the hashmarks at the 22-yard line at every stadium across the Pac-12 red.