UVA football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were honored as the first picks in the 2023 NFL Draft in a moving pre-draft ceremony Thursday night.
“All three of these young men had dreams of one day being drafted and playing in the NFL. Tonight, we can make one of those dreams come true,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, before inviting the families of the three players, who were murdered in a mass shooting on Grounds on Nov. 13, to the stage in Kansas City, before more than 100,000 fans in attendance to take part in the draft festivities.
“So, to make it official, with the first picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, we welcome to the NFL family D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler of the University of Virginia,” Goodell said, then posed for photos with each of the families, each of which was presented an NFL jersey, emblazoned with the #23.
Not coincidentally, my allergies started acting up something fierce as all of this was going on.
Chandler and Davis were wide receivers – Chandler a redshirt sophomore who had transferred from Wisconsin and was sitting out last football season; Davis a redshirt sophomore who was a freshman All-America in 2020 before missing the 2021 season with a torn ACL.
Perry was a junior linebacker.
The three were among a total of five UVA students who were shot at the end of a drama class field trip. One of the two who survived the shooting was a teammate, Mike Hollins, a rising fifth-year running back, who suffered life-threatening injuries, but has made a full recovery, and scored a touchdown in UVA’s spring game earlier this month.
The alleged triggerman, Chris Jones, 23, a UVA student, faces three murder charges among others in connection with the shootings.
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