Wisconsin star Montee Ball was the victim of what is being described as an "unprovoked" attack on Saturday night in Madison. But was Ball singled out because he is a football player?

According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal, witnesses told police that the group of five attackers said something along the lines of "nine more football players to go" after the assault.

“They said that two or three times and they just kept running,” student Luke Will told the newspaper.

Madison police told the paper that they suspect a “precipitating event" led to the attack, though they are still investigating what that event was and whether it involved football players. Thursday on Twitter, Ball called a report on TMZ that he and other football players had been involved in a fight before the attack "totally false."

Police said Ball was at the popular Madison spot State Street Brats before the attack and was walking home with two friends when he was jumped.

Ball is likely to miss at least the first part of Wisconsin's fall camp after suffering facial injuries and a concussion in the attack.