There are moments in life that stop you cold, that make you remember what truly matters beyond wins and losses. Early Sunday morning in Manhattan, one of those moments unfolded outside a Midtown restaurant. And it involves a young man who spent four years wearing burnt orange and who bled for the Longhorns on fall Saturdays. His name is Kris Boyd.​ And right now, he’s fighting for his life at Bellevue Hospital after being shot in the abdomen around 2 a.m. on West 38th Street. 

According to the NYPD, Boyd was shot once in the abdomen around 2:09 a.m. Sunday outside Sei Less, a restaurant and bar on West 38th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Police say a dispute turned violent. And the gunmen fired two shots before fleeing in a blue BMW. Boyd was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition. Right now, the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.

The New York Jets released a brief statement: “We are aware of the situation involving Kris Boyd and will have no further comment at this time.” But across social media, the response has been overwhelming.

Current and former NFL players have flooded Twitter with support and well-wishes. Kris Boyd wore No. 17 for the Jets and No. 2 for the Longhorns. But right now, those numbers don’t matter. What matters is that he pulls through this, that he gets another chance to live the life he’s worked so hard to build.​

Boyd’s journey to Texas came from Gilmer, a small East Texas town where football is a religion. He was selected to play in the 2015 U.S. Army All-America Bowl, one of the nation’s top recruits. What made his Texas commitment even more special was that his older brother, DeMarco Boyd, was already a linebacker for the Longhorns, giving Kris a built-in family connection in Austin and a model of what it took to succeed at that level.​

At Texas, Boyd became a cornerstone of the secondary, starting 33 of 51 games over four seasons and accumulating the kind of numbers that NFL scouts notice. He finished his career with 191 tackles (141 solo), four interceptions, 40 passes defended, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. After his senior season, Boyd was invited to play in the Senior Bowl, where he drew significant interest from NFL clubs looking for physical, aggressive corners who weren’t afraid to support the run game.​

Now, the Gilmer community, which watched Boyd grow from a local kid into a college star and NFL player, is devastated. This isn’t about football anymore. It’s about a 29-year-old man fighting for his life, about a family waiting for good news, about a community rallying around one of their own. 

The Longhorn family rallies

The news hit the Texas football community like a punch to the gut Sunday morning. And within hours, social media was flooded with prayers and support. “Praying for @TexasFootball alum, and current Jets player, Kris Boyd. This is too much man,” one fan wrote, capturing the raw emotion that so many were feeling. 

The sentiment was echoed across Longhorn Twitter, with fans who remembered Boyd’s four years in burnt orange suddenly confronted with the reality that the same cornerback was now fighting for his life. 

One fan put into words what so many were thinking: “It feels like some tragic, crazy story is breaking every week this NFL season. Kris Boyd was a ridiculous high school athlete, standout at Texas in college, and has molded a great NFL career for himself as a seventh round pick. Now, he’s fighting for his life at 29 years old. Just awful.” The comment showed both Boyd’s remarkable journey and the senselessness of what happened to him. 

The prayers kept coming throughout the day, simple but heartfelt. “Former Longhorn and Jets DB Kris Boyd is in critical condition this morning after getting shot in the abdomen. Prayers for Kris, hoping he pulls through 🤘,” another fan posted, the burnt orange hand sign emoji serving as a reminder that once you’re a Longhorn, you’re always a Longhorn. 

Others kept it even simpler: “Praying for the young man! 🙏🏾” and “Dang. Prayers. 🤘🤘” The brevity of those messages somehow made them more powerful, as if words failed in the face of such a senseless tragedy. Now, his former teammates, coaches, fans, and the entire Longhorn community could do nothing but wait and pray that the kid from Gilmer who’d given everything to the game would get the chance to keep living his life.​