Paul Kruger with family members at a Utah hospital. At left is Dave Kruger who was also injured in the attack.

(Image courtesy of Jennifer Kruger)

Utah coverage: UteZone.com

SALT LAKE CITY – Shortly after the brawl – after the gang members sped away with their knives and screwdrivers and brass knuckles – Paul Kruger sprawled out in the rear of a black Durango and looked up at his sister.

"Jessica," he said, "I'm having trouble breathing."

Kruger's face was pale. Blood seeped from his abdomen, through his shirt and onto his hands. When Kruger touched one of the stab wounds on his stomach, he could feel his intestines.

"Don't go to sleep, Paul," Jessica said as they waited for the ambulance. "Don't go to sleep."

Nine months later, in a Marriott hotel room in Salt Lake City, Kruger was emotionless as he talked about that January night. The Utah defensive end was almost numb to the story, having rehashed it countless times for the people who asked to see the scars that zigzag across his torso.

The 15 to 20 Latino gang members who jumped Kruger as he was leaving a party also drove a screwdriver through the back of his teammate, Greg Newman, and used brass knuckles to break the nose and shatter the cheekbone of his younger brother, Dave.

It was Kruger, though, who awoke the following morning in a Utah hospital with life-threatening injuries.

After more than 100 Utes players and coaches had filed in and out of his room, Kruger summoned the doctor who had repaired his nicked artery, the one who lifted Kruger's organs from his body and examined them before putting them back in their place.

"Doc," Kruger said, "will I ever play football again?"

If only she'd looked at a license plate or paid closer attention to faces and cars. Maybe then, Jessica Kruger said, the men who attacked her brothers and their friends would be behind bars instead of roaming the streets.

Salt Lake City police still are investigating leads surrounding the Jan. 19 attack. The Kruger family said they've been told the assailants might be members of a Las Vegas gang that transports crystal methamphetamine to Utah. But no one is sure.

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Nearly 50 staples were required to close the incisions made during Paul Kruger's surgery.

(Image courtesy of Jennifer Kruger)

"It's easy to have what-ifs after a situation like that," said Jessica, 21. "At the time, all I cared about was helping my brothers."

With about 20 prospects in for official visits, the Jan. 19 weekend was a big one for the Utah football program. After dining with the coaching staff and their families at Rodizio Grill, several of the recruits and players gathered at a house away from campus to watch the Felix Trinidad vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing match.

Paul, who had just finished his redshirt freshman season, went with Jessica and Dave, then a 17-year-old high school senior.

Before the pay-per-view ever began, Paul and his group decided to head for the Sundance Film Festival across town. As they walked toward the street, Paul noticed a car driving slowly past the house with the window rolled down.

"These guys just started yelling at us and cursing, saying all kinds of things," Paul said. "People trash-talk all the time and just kind of move on. But something about this was different. Something just didn't feel right."

Things escalated when Newman hurled a snowball at the car. When the men got out and approached the players, Paul attempted to play peacemaker.

"(Paul) ran up and got between everyone and said, 'We don't want a fight. We don't want any trouble,' " Dave said. "It seemed like everything was going to die down, but then one of the guys spit in our friend's face."

Fighting ensued, and before Paul and his group knew it, two more cars filled with hooligans had pulled up and unloaded. It was 15-on-five – "at least," Paul said – and, for a time, the football players held their own.

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Paul Kruger with his sister Jessica.

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