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• Mar 25, 2008 8:59 pm US/Central
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  Minnesota RB Recruit Recovering From Shooting

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Minnesota RB Recruit Recovering From Shooting

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said a star running back recruit is "fortunate that he's alive" after being shot in the leg outside a Virginia night club earlier this month.

Police say Kevin Whaley was leaving the club in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., shortly after 2 a.m. on March 22 when a vehicle pulled up and a gunman opened fire, hitting the Salem High School star in the leg.

Whaley was hospitalized with "non-life threatening injuries," but is back at home recovering, Brewster said Tuesday.

"I talked to Kevin yesterday," Brewster said. "He was very upbeat, very positive. He said, 'Coach I didn't run the 40 but I was out walking in the hallway."'

Brewster said Whaley's high school coach expected Whaley to be OK by this fall, but Brewster was not ready to comment for certain on the running back's status for the upcoming season.

Brewster said he did not know all the details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting, only that Whaley was on spring break from school.

"People say, 'What's he doing out at that time of night? This and that,"' Brewster said. "He's on spring break. Maybe he shouldn't have been where he was, I don't know the details. All I know is Kevin Whaley's a great kid. We're very fortunate that he's alive today."

Whether Whaley did anything wrong in the incident, Brewster couldn't say. Speaking generally, the coach said, "If kids do do something wrong, I promise you it's something we discuss and take the proper steps to make sure that they understand."

Whaley rushed for 1,661 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior last year and 6,301 yards in his high school career. He was a highly recruited prospect, and Whaley's coach told Brewster that may have played a role in the shooting.

"He could've went basically anywhere he wanted to go and so there's a lot of jealousy towards him," Brewster said. "And they think it was a directed act of violence."

 

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)