ACC will honor football players shot dead in Virginia during Saturday’s CFB games

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced it Wednesday and its member schools will honor the recent deaths of three University of Virginia football players killed in a shooting on Sunday.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, was charged Wednesday with three counts of manslaughter and five counts of using a firearm in a felony.

He shot and killed Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry on offense, all of whom were players on the college football team.

Witnesses claim they saw Jones “target” individuals on the bus and saw Chandler slide to the ground after being shot.

Jones was remanded in custody without bail and will next appear in court at 9:30 a.m. in December, though it’s unclear if he will be transported from Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Penitentiary.

A moment of silence will be held during all conference games this week. Each home team also has field signs that read “UVA Strong.”

The Atlantic Coastal Conference scheduled several measures on Saturday to honor the victims

This combination of undated images, provided by University of Virginia Athletics, shows NCAA college football players, from left, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. The three Virginia football players were killed in a shooting in Charlottesville while returning from a school trip

Helmets will have special designs during football games this weekend, with the decals approved by those at ACC headquarters in Greensboro, NC.

The ‘UVA Strong’ message will also make its way onto video boards at the games and across social media and digital platforms.

Virginia canceled its final home game of the season on Wednesday, the same day as Jones’ hearing.

The students had been on a field trip to see a play in Washington DC, with the devastating incident occurring as they pulled into the parking garage.

University officials and police said Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 22, joined a group of about 20 others on a Sunday field trip from the Charlottesville campus to see a play in the nation’s capital, about 125 miles away. . Jones was on the football team during the 2018 season, a one-semester walk-on, according to athletics director Carla Williams

A banner with the numbers and initials of three University of Virginia football players killed in a shooting hangs from a house near the crime scene on Monday.

It caused panic and a 12-hour lockdown on campus until the suspect was apprehended just outside Richmond on Monday.

Jones’ father now says he was “paranoid,” saying people “bullied” him for weeks before he saw wide receivers Chandler, Davis Jr. and killed linebacker Perry.

Fellow UVA football players Dontayvion Wicks and Mike Hollins were injured but survived.

Head football coach, Tony Elliott, smiled broadly when asked to share his thoughts on three of his players who were killed on Tuesday, as if this would provide some respite after two days of intense heartache.

Jenna Hughes, of Hanover, Virginia, stands with Brian Stanmeyer, of Vienna, Virginia, as they gather for a candlelight vigil following a shooting that killed three students the night before

“Davis Jr., Perry and Chandler were funny, competitive and great teammates,” said Elliott.

“Davis was gentle, but passionate, with a smile that lit up a room,” Elliott said. The six-foot wide receiver set the standard when it came to practice and preparing for a game – even when the coaches weren’t around.

“The other thing that resonated is how good a teammate he was and how much he loved his teammates and would do anything for his teammates,” Elliott told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

A pedestrian stands in front of a fraternity house with a banner commemorating three University of Virginia football players killed in a late-night college shooting on Monday

Sean Perry, a linebacker and defensive end for the University of Virginia football team, is one of three people shot dead Sunday night in Culbreth Garage at UVa Central Grounds at the University of Virginia, Perry’s father Sean Perry confirmed Monday morning.

“Perry was probably the most interesting guy on the roster,” said the coach. A dedicated player, but also a major studio artist who fashioned pots from clay, loved to draw and listened to classical music.

“And he had a sense of humor that is unique only D’Sean can have,” Elliott said. “You knew right away when someone said something, yes, that was D’Sean.”

Chandler came over from Wisconsin and had yet to play with Virginia.

“He was just a big boy. Smiled all the time. Loved to dance. Loved to sing. Loved competitions, even though the boys revealed he wasn’t very good at video games, but he thought he was,” Elliott said with a laugh. “But he liked competition.”

Virginia’s Lavel Davis Jr. (1) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NCAA college football game against Richmond in Charlottesville on Sept. 3

Jones was on the football team during the 2018 season, a one-semester walk-on, according to athletics director Carla Williams.

The violence at the state’s premier public university has sparked days of mourning among students and faculty, the wider Charlottesville community and other supporters.

Classes resumed Wednesday, though no decision has yet been made on whether UVA will participate in the final game of the season on Nov. 26 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the university said in a press release.

Chandler was a wide receiver from Huntersville, North Carolina. He recently transferred from Wisconsin where his scores include a 59-yard kickoff return and 18-yard rush in the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl against Wake Forest.

Violence broke out near a parking garage just after 10:15 p.m. Sunday as a busload of students returned to Charlottesville