Bronco Mendenhall on UVA Football tragedy: ‘It’s as if I’ve lost three of my own sons’

Bronco Mendenhall told ESPN.com reporter David Hale that he has spoken with the mothers of all three of his former Virginia Football players who were shot and killed on Sunday night.

“The words coming out of my mouth weren’t even making sense. It wasn’t even really coherent. It doesn’t feel right,” Mendenhall told Hale.

Mendenhall, according to Hale, has photos of each of the three victims – Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry – on the screen saver on his phone.

“Those smiles are authentic, and their futures were genuine. I just felt so lucky to be around them. It’s just absolutely heartbreaking to even consider,” Mendenhall told Hale.

Hale said Mendenhall told him that the shooter, Chris Jones, was a member of the football program in the summer of 2018, but did not make it to preseason camp ahead of the fall 2018 season.

Mendenhall said Jones, a Petersburg High School graduate, was injured when he arrived on Grounds and never practiced with the team.

According to Hale, Mendenhall said he wasn’t aware of any criminal or behavior issues with Jones during his brief involvement with the football program.

One story that will get you a bit has to do with the recruitment of Chandler, a top North Carolina prep player who Mendenhall had out to his ranch in Albemarle County for a recruiting visit.

Chandler decided to attend Wisconsin, but when he decided to enter the transfer portal after two seasons there, Mendenhall reached out again to gauge Chandler’s interest in attending Virginia.

Mendenhall stepped down as coach at Virginia before Chandler would enroll in the spring, but the former coach told Hale that he “felt really good, regardless of me being the coach at UVA or not, because I thought it was the right place for him, the right place for his future – and not only football-wise.”

“This was way better in so many areas, and I knew he’d be so fulfilled, and it’d be a great fit,” Mendenhall told Hale.

Regarding the losses of Chandler, Davis and Perry, Mendenhall had this to say to Hale:

“It’s as if I’ve lost three of my own sons, and not being able to console or be there to counsel and nurture and be doing that, I’m hurting,” he said.