Saskatchewan Roughriders mourn tragic loss of running back Joe McKnight

Even though Joe McKnight was only a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders since Sep. 20, he left a lasting impression.

“You go through every single emotion,” Riders President Craig Reynolds said Friday as he gathered to speak with local media. “Our entire organization is feeling that.”

“Devastation is a word that keeps coming up.”

McKnight died on Dec. 1 after he shot at about 3 p.m. Thursday in Terrytown, a suburb of New Orleans just across the Mississippi River.

Chris Jones, Riders VP of Football Operations, General Manager and Head Coach, is currently in Fort Lauderdale, FL getting set to a try-out camp. He said he was also shocked to hear the news Thursday evening.

“It’s just a tragic loss,” he said. “I tried to wake up this morning hoping maybe I dreamed it, but I wasn’t,” Jones said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's just a tragic loss," he said. "I tried to wake up this morning hoping maybe I dreamed it, but I wasn't," Jones said.

McKnight made his Rider’s debut on Oct. 15, but his legacy started long before that.

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He was a football star at John Curtis High School in River Ridge, Louisiana, and was a top recruit in the country.

He went to the University of Southern California to play with the Trojans, and after just three years at USC, he was selected in the 2010 NFL draft by the New York Jets.

READ MORE: Joe McKnight shooting suspect released, not formally charged

McKnight spent three years with the Jets and another with the Kansas City Chiefs.

WATCH: New details have emerged in the shooting death of 28-year-old Roughriders running back Joe McKnight. In a surprising twist, just 24 hours after the incident, police have released his alleged shooter, Ronald Gasser, 54, with no charges. Christa Dao has more.

1:40 New details in the shooting death of Saskatchewan Roughrider Joe McKnight

McKnight suffered a torn Achilles tendon in 2014, and once recovered, he came north to the CFL, joining the Edmonton Eskimos.

After being released by Edmonton, McKnight signed with the Riders on Sep. 20, and made his first career CFL start on Oct. 15, running for 150 yards against the Toronto Argonauts. It was that game that helped his status for next year.

“That game in Toronto was an unbelievable game,” Reynolds said. “He showed the potential that he had.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "That game in Toronto was an unbelievable game," Reynolds said. "He showed the potential that he had."

“We had every plan to have him back,” Jones added. “Every talk that I had, he certainly wanted to be back, so he figured very much into our plans.

Off the field, McKnight was a father to Jaiden, a teammate to many, and a friend to all.

As evidenced by the outpouring of support on social media, McKnight was a man who touched many, whether it be his head coach at USC Pete Carroll, his former teammates in the NFL or his current teammates in the CFL.

“He had all the potential in the world,” Reynolds said. “And he was only 28-year-old.”