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Will sophomore wideout Lavel Davis Jr. see the field for Virginia this season?

Chris Graham
Lavel Davis Jr.
Lavel Davis Jr. Photo courtesy Atlantic Coast Conference.

Bad news for those who were hoping that last year’s breakthrough wideout, Lavel Davis Jr., would make it back to the field for Virginia this fall.

“I don’t think he’s close. I think this is, if I’m looking after him like I do and will as my own son, it just doesn’t make sense,” UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall said Monday.

Davis, who averaged 25.8 yards per catch as a freshman in 2020, suffered a torn ACL in the spring, and at the time, it was stressed in a release from Virginia Athletics that the recovery time for the injury could have him back in action in November.

It’s now November.

I’d been hearing behind the scenes for a few weeks that it was looking less and less likely that Davis, a 6’7” sophomore, would be available this season.

The recovery time for an ACL tear is, when you look at it conservatively, closer to a year, in terms of getting a guy back on a football field – not just training, but running, stopping, cutting, taking hits.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not willing and trying hard, et cetera. It’s just the possible gain, which would be significant when we talk about the next three, but contextually and for him and his future, yeah, I don’t see that happening,” Mendenhall said.

“So, yeah, I’m not putting this in writing and saying this is the declaration of, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me today,” Mendenhall said.

Story by Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, 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. 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].