Just four months after surviving a shooting that claimed the lives of three of his University of Virginia football teammates, running back Mike Hollins is back training with the Cavaliers.
Hollins was seen at spring practice as a full participant after being released from the hospital in November following time on a ventilator.
The spring practice marks the first time the Cavaliers will participate in football activities since the shooting, after the school canceled its last two games of the season and was unable to bowl.
Head coach Tony Elliott praised Hollins for his dedication to the team and his resilience in the face of tragedy.
“Just to see how he’s attacked everything, he could have easily made excuses, overthought things and he’s taking it upon himself to respond and show perseverance and be resilient,” Elliott said.
Virginia football running back Mike Hollins is back in practice after being shot in November.
Hollins (right) was released from the hospital in November after spending time on a ventilator and recovering after being wounded in the mass shooting.
“I think a lot of it is for him, but most of it is for his teammates.” There was a time when we didn’t know if he would ever get a chance to play football again.
“I’m grateful to be out on the field, grateful to have the opportunity to be here at the University of Virginia and lead this program, lead these young men, all the guys who decided to come back and pick up the pieces and turn this tragedy into triumph. .
“I am very happy for Mike because we all know that as a football player, your time will come to an end. You definitely wouldn’t want it to end that way. So seeing him get another chance, just to go out on his own terms, makes it really special.”
Hollins and three of his teammates, Devin Chandler, D’Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr., were shot after returning to Charlottesville from a field trip to Washington, DC.
Chandler, Perry, and Davis died as a result of the shooting. Another student, Marlee Morgan, was also shot in the incident, but survived her injuries.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former UVA football player, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder along with other charges.
This undated combination of images provided by the University of Virginia Athletics shows, 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 field trip.
The violence erupted near a parking lot just after 10:15 pm on November 13 as a busload of students was returning to Charlottesville from a field trip to Washington, DC.
22-year-old Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. (pictured) is alleged to have killed three members of the football team. His father has called Jones Jr. “paranoid” and said people had been “picking him up” weeks before his campus gun attack.
Hollins (above) said Jones seemed “normal” before killing three of his teammates.
Back in practice, Hollins’ roommate Perris Jones said the team has been inspired by how Hollins has worked his way back to the team.
“Just the way he has behaved throughout this tragedy and how he continues to behave is surreal,” Perris Jones said.
“He’s a strong man, and his fighting every day encourages all of us to keep fighting and do the best we can because if he can do it, so can we, so it’s definitely motivating.”
“Like I told the guys, ‘We’re not going to move on, but we have a responsibility to move on,'” Elliott said. We believe that the spirits and legacies of the three men we lost would want us to move on. But there will be times when there will be emotional milestones that we have to overcome.
“But I think from what I’ve seen so far, the guys have really taken hold of the appreciation and gratitude that they have for being here at the University of Virginia to carry on the legacy.”