Court recessed today before the jury had a chance to deliberate.

Mitch Cozad, who did not testify, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault in the attack on Rafael Mendoza last Sept. 11.

"It's going to be nerve-racking," Mendoza said as he left the courtroom with his family. "It's up to the jury whether he's found guilty or not. If not, well then, I have to keep moving on. If he is, same thing. Football starts tomorrow, and that's where my focus has to be."

Police and prosecutors have said the attack was a bid to get the starter's job.

"The defendant was willing to do anything to play football. No matter how hard he tried on the football field he could not compete with Mr. Mendoza at his skill level. And the only option was to take it off the field, and that's what he did," prosecutor Michele Meyer said during closing statements.

"He tried to kill him. Swiped at him twice, couldn't get him, so he stabbed him in the back of the leg," she said.

Mendoza was attacked outside his apartment in Evans, a small town adjacent to Greeley. He was left with a deep gash in his kicking leg but later returned to the team.

He testified he could not see who attacked him. Defense attorney Joseph Gavaldon has argued it was not Cozad but another Northern Colorado student — Kevin Aussprung, who testified he was with Cozad the night of the attack.

Gavaldon pointed the finger at Aussprung in his opening and closing statements.

Aussprung testified earlier in the trial that Cozad offered him money to watch his car. Aussprung said Cozad did not tell him what happened, and he did not ask.

"He pulled the wool over their eyes, he pulled the wool over the district attorney's eyes because he's not charged," Gavaldon said of Aussprung during closing statements. "The issue in this case is if Mr. Cozad stabbed Rafael Mendoza; there is reasonable doubt."

Prosecutors spent more than four days laying out their case against Cozad, calling Mendoza, police, a female friend of Cozad's and other Northern Colorado students as witnesses — 34 in all.

Gavaldon, by contrast, took only a few hours, calling two character witnesses and a third who contradicted testimony of a prosecution witness. Earlier today, he asked the judge to dismiss the attempted murder charge, saying prosecutors did not prove their case. The judge refused.

Cozad's aunt, Sandee Kitchen, described Cozad as caring, gentle and helpful. "He's like a teddy bear," she said. "He's not aggressive."

Randy Yaussi, director of the Outward Bound program at the University of Wyoming, said he has known Cozad for 3 1/2 years and described him as polite and caring.

"I have never, ever seen anything that would make me think he's aggressive," he said.

Cozad's fiancee, Michelle Weydert, contradicted earlier testimony by Angela Vogel, who testified earlier she was aware Cozad had another girlfriend but thought that relationship was "on a break."

Vogel said Cozad came to her dorm room last Sept. 4 dressed in black — crying, anxious and frustrated.

"He told me he got to be a ninja that night," Vogel said. "'Oh my God, what I almost did tonight.' I thought he was suicidal."

Weydert testified Cozad was with her that night, was not dressed in black and made no ninja references.

Vogel had testified yesterday that she lied to police at Cozad's request, first saying Cozad was with her at the time Mendoza was stabbed.

She said she quickly regretted that lie and 15 minutes later told investigators Cozad had left for part of the evening and did not contact her again until shortly after 10 p.m.

Police said Mendoza was stabbed at about 9:30 p.m.

During cross-examination by Gavaldon, Vogel said she got scared when police accused her of being with Cozad on a crosstown trip to Mendoza's apartment the night of the stabbing.

Vogel also testified that Cozad once asked her what she thought would hurt most, "getting hit by a car, getting beat by a baseball bat or getting stabbed?"

Prosecutors showed a series of text messages they said Cozad sent Vogel, including, "We were not apart between 8 and 12."

In a Sept. 12 interview with police, Cozad said his text messages were meant to comfort Vogel, according to an audiotape of the session.

"I was saying, 'It's OK. Just be strong,"' Cozad said on the tape.

Later in the interview, a detective accused Cozad of asking Vogel to lie and said, "You know what happened to Rafael."

Cozad's mother, Suzanne, who was present for the interview, interrupted and said, "At this point, I think we need an attorney."