He is a young man who will blaze an incredible path during his life. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of Mike and how fortunate we are to have him as part of the Virginia program. “It meant a lot for him to honor his fallen teammates by the way our team responded and carried itself this year and he guided us by example. “Mike was more deliberate as a leader for our team this season,” Elliott said. For his career, Hollins had 814 rushing yards, 34 receptions, 241 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Hollins was voted by his teammates as one of five team captains. He turned in a three-touchdown performance in UVA’s 31-27 upset win over then-No. The 5-9, 204-pound Hollins carried the ball 80 times this season for 274 yards and rushed for seven touchdowns, to go with 10 catches for 34 yards and a receiving touchdown. That was a remarkable accomplishment and I still marvel at how he did it, and more importantly, the way he did it.” He had to overcome physical and mental obstacles, he had to cope with the loss of his teammates and he had to perform knowing there were a lot of eyes on him. The road back to playing football this year took a different type of courage. “That type of action speaks to who he is and his beliefs. “Mike displayed tremendous courage the night he returned to the bus to help his teammates and the other students on that field trip,” Tony Elliott said. On the day before the game, Hollins and the Virginia program gathered on the Grounds for a ceremonial tree planting and plaque dedication near the site of the shooting to honor Chandler, Davis Jr. Hollins rushed for two touchdowns in the game against JMU. One week later, in Virginia’s first game at Scott Stadium since the shootings, Hollins carried a “UVA Strong” flag on to the field. 2 against Tennessee in Nashville, Hollins carried the team flag on to the field and entered the game on the Hoos’ third play from scrimmage. When the program took the field for this year’s season opener on Sept. Virginia’s final two games of the 2022 season were canceled in the aftermath of the shooting. Hollins recovered from his wounds and returned to the Hoos’ football program in the spring. Hollins was shot twice when he returned to the bus to try and help his teammates. and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed last fall after returning to the Grounds from a class field trip. Virginia student-athletes Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. But through my faith I was able to carry it, through my teammates, I was able to carry it, and through those parents that lost their sons I was also able to carry it.” “So that was just on my mind all year, every day, and obviously I had a spotlight on me that I didn’t ask for. Our impact is so much bigger and we just have a lot more to play for. Because it’s clearer than ever that football is so much bigger than us. This year was just about will - showing your will, showing your will to compete, to win. If the effort wasn’t there, or if you didn’t know what you were playing for, I didn’t care if we won or if we lost. It was the effort and knowing what you were playing for. And it wasn’t really the wins or losses that really mattered. “I feel like all season it meant a little bit more to me than it did for everyone else. “It meant a lot to me,” Hollins said of playing this season. 13, 2022 shootings that took the lives of three of his UVA teammates. Hollins, a graduate student, played in 11 of 12 games for the Cavaliers this season after surviving the Nov. – Graduate student Mike Hollins was named the 22nd winner of the Capital One-Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award.
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