UVA football: Demetrious Nicholson healthy, looks to contribute in 2015

It only feels like Demetrious Nicholson has been in a UVA football uniform for a hundred years. Actually, Nicholson, a 5’11”, 185-pound cornerback, is only a fifth-year senior, getting that extra year on Grounds after his return from a midseason injury two years ago was cut short, getting in just one game in 2014.

Part of the reason why it feels like Nicholson has been around so long is that he was a contributor early on. As a true freshman in 2011, Nicholson was a second-team Freshman All-American after a season that saw him record 60 tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defensed.

He was also durable until the lower-extremity injury in a loss to Ball State in 2013 that put him on the shelf, on the field for 96.4 percent of the UVA defensive snaps from the opening game of the 2011 season until the injury in the Ball State game.

Nicholson looks to be that kind of contributor again in his last go-round in 2015.

“I’ve got a whole year, I’m healthy, and I’m feeling good. And I’m back out here with my teammates in spring ball getting better,” a smiling Nicholson told reporters before a spring scrimmage on Friday.

The injury that has had him down much of the past 18 months is what they call turf toe, which doesn’t sound like much, but turf toe can put severe limitations on athletes who need to be able to cut and accelerate on a dime.

“I couldn’t run, couldn’t plant, and then when I started running and jogging, I still couldn’t plant. That was a hard injury for me because of the position that I play,” said Nicholson, who had a nice moment of realization about his health status earlier in spring practice.

“My mom asked me how my toe was doing, and I was like, I didn’t even think about it today, so that was a big step for me. I don’t even think about last year. I try to leave it behind and start fresh,” Nicholson said.

UVA coach Mike London knows Nicholson can be a big contributor in the defensive backfield in the fall.

“He’s started thirty-something games for us,” London said. “It’s good to see a veteran player back in back there. I’ve said before, I think our secondary can be pretty good with who’s back there, and him being back there is pretty important to our success.”

Nicholson can be a leader in another way.

“He’s handled adversity, stuck with it, was a great teammate before he got hurt, even better teammate when he got hurt, was a guy people could look up to, how he handled a stack of adversity,” London said. “He’s been true to training and keeping a positive attitude. And now he’s out here running with the ones, and we’re glad to have him back.”

– Story by Chris Graham