Home Chandler, Davis, Perry: Bright young men with bright futures, sadly, tragically, cut short
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Chandler, Davis, Perry: Bright young men with bright futures, sadly, tragically, cut short

Chris Graham
uva football tragedy
(Background photo © David Matthew Lyons – stock.adobe.com/Player images courtesy UVA Athletics website)

The one thing we keep hearing over and over about Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry is each was a bright young man with a bright future who made an impression on their classmates, professors and mentors in the University of Virginia community and beyond.

Chandler, a transfer from Wisconsin, “was an unbelievably nice person, always a huge smile, really gregarious and funny. One of those people who’s just impossible not to like. It is so sad and enraging that he is gone,” said Jack Hamilton, a UVA professor who teaches American studies and media studies, in a post on Twitter.

Alvis Whitted, the wide receivers coach at Wisconsin, told the Washington Post that Chandler was an “exceptional” football player who was also an “all-around good guy who had a smile that would light up any room.”

“This is not about football,” Whitted said. “He had such great energy. He made people laugh. People wanted to be around him. He had a really good heart. It’s just so unfortunate.”

ESPN.com reporter Andrea Adelson shared a snippet of an interview that she had done with Davis for a story on the Groundskeepers, a social-justice group founded by UVA Football players and assistant coach Marques Hagans in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

“When I leave here, I just want to say I was part of a change, and I took a step forward, changing everything in the right direction,” Davis told Adelson. “Whatever I can do, even if it’s a small percentage to bring awareness to all the injustice our school has been through, just to shine a light on it and change it in the right direction, it’s a blessing to be a part of it. Because I know these four years are going to go by quick. I for sure want to say I took a step forward for UVA.”

Hamilton, who had Chandler as a student in his class on hip hop culture in the spring, also had Davis as a student in his “Race and Sound in American Culture” class in the fall.

“One thing that struck me about Vel was how much his classmates liked him and vice versa,” Hamilton tweeted. “In my experience, star athletes often tend to hang out with other athletes (understandable, given the time commitment), but Vel seemed to go out of his way to make friends with non-athletes.

“Anyways, I am just stunned and devastated and completely at a loss, but wanted to say all this because they were great people with truly limitless futures, and they should still be here. It breaks my heart,” Hamilton said.

Florida prep recruiting analyst Larry Blustein told USA Today that he spoke with Perry, a native of Miami, twice a week, and was “devastated” by the news.

“D’Sean was the ultimate student/athlete who never had an enemy,” Blustein wrote in a text. “While several schools didn’t take notice of what he brought to the table as an athlete, the University of Virginia understood what he was all about — on and off the playing field. For the past six years, nobody has been in his corner and rooting for him more than we have. This is a great loss. Hearing from his family weekly was an inspiration and backs up that hard work and dedication will get you over the hump.”

The fourth shooting victim in Sunday’s tragedy who has been publicly identified is also a UVA Football student-athlete, Mike Hollins.

According to his father, Mike Hollins Sr., the younger Hollins is in stable condition, and is expected to make a full recovery.

Hollins Sr. said his son, a fourth-year student, is on pace to graduate a semester early, in December, with a degree in entrepreneurship and African American history.

Hollins Sr. told the Washington Post that his son had planned to return to school in the spring and then again in the 2023-2024 to use his last year of eligibility in football and begin work toward a master’s degree.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].