Former Louisville football players help pay for Jared Lorenzen's funeral

LEXINGTON — Several former Louisville football players are crossing the lines of the Governor's Cup rivalry to help pay for former Kentucky football quarterback Jared Lorezen's funeral.

Former Louisville offensive lineman Jamon Brown, who like Lorenzen spent time in the NFL playing for the New York Giants, and his foundation are donating $5,000, Danny Mosby, the executive director of the Jamon Brown Foundation confirmed in an email to the Courier Journal. Mosby said former Louisville players Deion Branch and Chris Redman will also be donating an unspecified amount toward funeral costs.

"We wanted to be an example of how, no matter if you played for the blue or the red, how important it is for us to come together and support one another, both in and out of sports,” Brown told Forbes.com. "The rivalry between the schools is intense, and it’s great, but at the end of the day, all that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you remember that we’re all in this game of life together, whether you played for the blue or the red."

Lorenzen, who still holds multiple Kentucky passing records, died Wednesday at the age of 38 after being hospitalized last week with an infection, heart and kidney issues. According to Lorenzen's obituary, a celebration of his life will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m.- 6 p.m. as well as a burial service at St. Pius X Church in Edgewood.

Read this: Louisville football mourns the loss of Kentucky's Jared Lorenzen

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Jon Hale: jahale@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @JonHale_CJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jonh.

UK QB Jared Lorenzen stretches before practice inside the Nutter Field House on the UK campus Wednesday. (NOTE: the outdoor field was too wet from recent rains, so they practiced in this dark dungeon, making action photos nearly impossible to shoot.)