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FIU returns to practice while working through the sudden death of teammate Luke Knox

FIU linebacker Luke Knox practiced Wednesday morning.

By that night, Knox, 22, had died of unknown causes, leaving behind many stunned loved ones, including FIU coach Mike MacIntyre, who has known Luke’s family for decades.

When the news of Knox’s death broke, FIU canceled Thursday’s practice.

On Friday, the team practiced with heavy hearts. After practice, MacIntyre spoke to several media members for 12 minutes, and he didn’t break down until the very end.

“I was proud of how they worked today,” MacIntyre said when asked what he told his players after practice. “They always pray as a team after practice. Today, they prayed for Luke and his family and then um ...”

After choking back tears, MacIntyre said: “We usually break [the huddle] by saying ‘FIU.’ Today they said, ‘Let’s break it down for Luke,’ and I thought that was fitting.”

Knox, who was new to FIU this year after transferring in from Ole Miss, played his high school ball in Tennessee at Brentwood Academy.

That happens to be the alma mater for MacIntyre and his wife, Trisha.

“I’ve known [Knox’s] father [David] since I was 16,” MacIntyre said. “We all went to Brentwood, walked the same hallways. We have some of the same friends. Luke’s family grew up about 10 houses from my in-law’s place.

“I think the world of David and [Luke’s mother] Rachel Knox. They are unbelievable parents and unbelievable people.”

MacIntyre said he was “outside the emergency room for hours and hours” on Wednesday night, communicating with Knox’s parents, who are based in Nashville.

“My wife and I picked up David and Rachel [Thursday] at 1:35 in the morning and took them to the hospital,” MacIntyre said. “We’re in the process of working through this. There is a lot of love for the family.

“We miss Luke dearly. It’s a young man that I love and cherish. I coached him at Ole Miss. I’ve known him for a while. Getting him here was really exciting.”

Now there’s just grief.

MacIntyre said that when the time is right he will let his players decide what type of tribute they want to make for Knox, whether it’s a patch on their jerseys or something else.

“I would say the mood of the team is sad,” MacIntyre said. “They miss their friend.

“But they are trying to work through this as a group of young men. I haven’t seen any anger, but that goes in stages, too, in recovery. … I do see a group that is coming together.”

MacIntyre said it was mentally “healthy” for his players to practice Friday.

In fact, one player even thanked MacIntyre for holding practice, saying: ‘We really needed to get going.”

MacIntyre said he can relate to his athletes right now because he lost a teammate during his playing days at Georgia Tech. That’s because former Georgia Tech tight end Chris Caudle drowned while fishing off of a 12-foot aluminum boat on May 15, 1988.

Caudle, who was 20, could not swim.

“He was a good of friend of ours,” MacIntyre said of Caudle. “Because of that, I have a little bit of an understanding what our players are going through.”

MacIntyre said he talked to coaches who have lost players. MacIntyre also talked to experts in psychology and grief counseling.

After those conversations, MacIntyre said the FIU coaches and players spent much of Thursday together, eating Chick-fil-A for lunch and “sat around and talked and visited.”

For dinner, the team had pizza, watched a movie and hung out together.

Three or four players opted out of Friday’s practice, dealing with grief in their own way.

“There’s no perfect formula,” MacIntyre said. “You love the kids. You listen to them.

“You don’t know when it’s going to hit you. This [grief] will go into the season. But the players are handling it the best they can.”