UAB running back declared brain dead after shooting

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) The family of University of Alabama Birmingham running back Gregory Bryant searched for answers Monday, saying they don't know why anyone would fatally shoot him as he drove on Interstate 95.

Allen Mosley, Bryant's uncle, said Bryant always had a smile and was never angry. He said Bryant died Sunday morning, but remained hooked to machines Monday while the family decides whether to donate his organs.

Bryant was shot early Saturday as he and a friend, Maurice Grover, were driving back to the home of Bryant's grandmother. Bryant, 21, was in town just a few days to spend Mother's Day with his mom and grandmother, Mosley said.

''I guess God needed a running back and Greg's number was called,'' Mosley said. ''He was a hungry, humble kid who just had a passion to play pro football.''

A West Palm Beach police spokeswoman, Detective Lori Colombino, gave no updates Monday on the investigation. No arrests have been made. Mosley said police have not given the family any insight into the investigation.

Mosley said the family just wants an arrest so the killer or killers face justice.

''We are not interested in revenge,'' Mosley said. ''That will not bring Greg back.''

Bryant was heavily recruited when he graduated from American Heritage High in Delray Beach in 2013. He started his career at Notre Dame but was declared academically ineligible and left the school. He spent last season attending ASA College, a junior college in Miami, where he played in just one game. He transferred to UAB earlier this year, and was the biggest name in UAB's first recruiting class since the school restarted its football program.

Because UAB won't play again until the 2017 season, Bryant was allowed to enroll in classes in January and could have become eligible to play after spending an academic year at the school.

His grandmother, Annette Kelley, told WPEC (http://bit.ly/1YgVb1S ) she is looking for answers because ''a coward killed my baby.''

In Birmingham, Alabama, teammates were mourning Bryant's death.

''This guy did a complete 180,'' said Timothy Alexander, the life coach for UAB's football team, told WBRC (http://bit.ly/1YgVb1S ). ''People counted Greg out. Greg counted himself in. It shows what one man can do when you believe in yourself.''

Alexander had been scheduled to pick up Bryant from the airport on Sunday.

''This is our brother. It's someone's son, it happened to this man's mom on Mother's Day. It hurts,'' Alexander said.