Rich Rodriguez tried to reach out to his friend Sunday afternoon, knowing only what coaches know, how they feel and connect with their players.

So when Rodriguez, the Michigan coach, heard about the stabbing death of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard on Sunday he called Huskies coach Randy Edsall. He didn’t reach Edsall, but can only imagine what he is going through.

Jasper Howard

AP photo

Howard’s death was senseless, a life cut way too short. That’s the message Rodriguez said he’d impart to his team when they met Monday. Around college football this week, what happened in Storrs, Conn. will surely be discussed.

“I’m sure what he’s going through, his team is going through, it’s a coach’s nightmare,” Rodriguez said. “From the standpoint, I think you all realize how important these kids are to the coaches and their teammates. They truly are like members of your family.

“Every coach, and Randy does a great job of that at UConn, of fostering that atmosphere. So when you lose a member of your family, it’s devastating.”

Edsall identified Howard’s body at the hospital. He broke the news to his team. When he spoke with the media Sunday, Edsall said none of what he had gone through, what he had done, was part of his job description. He was emotional, yet strong for all of his players who clearly were looking to his lead.

Howard was at a homecoming dance on campus when he was stabbed. Earlier Saturday, the 20-year-old had one of the best games of his career in a win over Louisville. Less than 24 hours later, Howard was dead.

No coach is prepared for this. No teammate. No parent. No fan.

So it struck home with players at Michigan because Howard was a current player. According to media reports, two teammates tried to save him. Another teammate was the second stabbing victim.

He was, essentially, one of them.

“Reading it, it almost didn’t seem real,” Michigan guard Stephen Schilling said. “It’s a player playing right now. Sometimes you read those stories, an ex-player and something happens. But a player that played that day, 11 tackles, fumble recovery, it’s hard to believe something like that could happen.”

Schilling couldn’t help but think what it would be like if something similar happened at Michigan.

“Reading about that story, it is so tragic,” Schilling said. “That kind of popped in my head, what if it was one of our cornerbacks, one of our players that had gone out and you know, it’s hard to even imagine it. You can’t imagine it, you know, unless you’re in that situation.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his teammates, his family, his friends.”

These become the saddest of teaching moments for coaches about always being aware of surroundings, no matter how benign the intent. Former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr used to tell his players “nothing good happens after midnight” as a reminder to try and stay safe.

Rodriguez reminds his players of something similar after every home game and Michigan has an 11 p.m. curfew on Thursday, are in hotels on Friday and, according to Jordan Kovacs, have curfews on Saturday nights after games.

Michigan’s players go out “in packs,” according to tight end Kevin Koger, to ensure that they aren’t put in adverse situations. It rarely happens, Koger said, but he can feel when there might be a situation festering that they need to get out of. And that as football players, they can sense an extra eye following them wherever they go.

“You can sense when something is not going right,” Koger said. “People start acting funny. You can just feel it sometimes and you just leave. We don’t want any trouble. We want to set a good example for everybody else.”

By many media accounts, Howard was trying to do just that. He was the first member in his family to attend college. He hoped for a career in the NFL to support his mother and two sisters. He was an expectant father.

And now, he’s gone.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.