By Tee Haskell

Memorial created in memory of Davis, Chandler and Perry.

On Nov. 13, 2022, a tragic shooting occurred on the University of Virginia campus. After returning from a class trip to Washington, D.C., Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr., opened fire on the bus. Jones killed three Virginia football players and injured two others. The three players killed were wide receiver Lavel Davis, Jr., linebacker D’Sean Perry, and wide receiver Devin Chandler. 

Tony Elliott, in his first year as Virginia’s head football coach, instantly was faced with one of the most difficult tasks in all of sports. This was not the first time that Elliott had to deal with death on a football team, as two players under Elliott at Clemson had shortly died after graduating. In an interview with ESPN’s Andrea Adelson last November, Elliott said that he contemplated quitting coaching after the shooting but continued to honor the legacy of Davis, Perry, and Chandler.

Three years later, UVA was coming off of a 3-7 season in 2022, 3-9 season in 2023 and a 5-7 season 2024. Elliott and everyone close to the program knew his job was on the line last year. Coming into the 2025 season, Elliott had to completely rebuild the roster after starting quarterback Anthony Colandrea, starting wide receiver Malachi Fields, and 18 other players both entered the transfer portal, while All-ACC safety Jonas Sanker graduated and was taken in the third round of the NFL draft. 

Dakota Twitty during UVA’s annual spring game.

Elliott remained unfazed, and armed with a series of multi-million dollar anonymous donations, Elliott brought in the 27th best transfer portal class, capped off with the acquisition of Chandler Morris, an experienced QB in his final year of eligibility and his 4th school. In the first team meeting, Morris said, “I didn’t come to UVA as a Texas boy to win five or six games. I came here to the conference championship.”

Even with all of the new roster acquisitions and funding, UVA was still projected to finish 14th in the ACC and finish under .500 at the start of the season. There was also a consensus opinion that Elliott would be fired midway through the season. While many media outlets were skeptical of the potential of the UVA team, fans were expecting a bowl birth from Elliott and the Wahoos because of their experienced roster, which included Morris, J’mari Taylor, Trell Harris, Kam Robinson, and Antonio Clary.

Chandler Morris runs in for a touchdown. 

UVA was 3-1 to start the season, after wins over Coastal Carolina, William and Mary, and Stanford. UVA lost a nailbiter to N.C. State after a game-costing interception by Morris. Morris suffered a shoulder issue against Coastal Carolina that plagued him for the rest of the season, while Taylor and Harris became the focus of the offense, with impressive performances against NCSU and Stanford, respectively. 

After this, UVA started preparing for the most important game of the season, a primetime Friday night matchup vs. No. 8 Florida State on Sep. 26. It had been 30 years since UVA’s historic upset over No. 2 FSU in 1995, and many UVA fans were wondering if history would repeat itself that day.  

As a life-long Virginia fan and season ticket holder, this was one of the most important games I had ever attended. Packed into the first row of UVA’s student section, the Hill, surrounded by many current Collegiate students and alumni, I felt the hopes of an upset fill the air. The UVA fans were the most energetic that I had ever seen, reversing the narrative that the UVA fanbase is a wine and cheese crowd. 

UVA fans storm the field after beating FSU. Photo credit: Tee Haskell.

The back-and-forth game went into double overtime after an incredible offensive showing from both teams. UVA struck first with a Morris touchdown run and two-point conversion pass to Trell Harris. FSU then took a shot to the end zone after three plays, but wide receiver Duce Robinson bobbled it in the back of the end zone. After that play, the UVA crowd took over, causing a false start penalty and a timeout on FSU before fourth down. On 4th and 12, Castellanos was blitzed and threw an interception to lose the game 46-38. The UVA fans erupted and stormed onto the field in what ESPN called, “the fastest field storm of all time.”

After the Florida State game, UVA football was ranked No. 24, the first time since Elliott took over the UVA job. UVA then won four straight one-score victories over Louisville, Washington State, UNC, and UC Berkeley. After seven straight wins and being ranked #12, not only was the team receiving national regard, but Elliott himself was also getting attention. In an interview with Adam Breneman on Oct. 2, Elliott talked about how he always checks the bathrooms to see if the toilets are flushed before he leaves the football facility. This is because Elliott believes that “if you don’t have enough respect to flush the toilet for your teammate, how are you going to die for him on 4th and 1?” Elliott also talked about the motto for the Cavs this season, “TLC to CLT.” The motto stands for “toughness, leadership, and commitment,” which will allow the Wahoos to make the ACC championship in Charlotte, North Carolina (whose airport code is “CLT”). He also believes that his job as a coach is to “build champion men by serving their heart, not their talent.”

UVA would then walk back into Scott Stadium for a game against Wake Forest on Nov. 8. On the second possession for the Cavaliers, Morris was hit late to the head after he slid for a first down. Nebraska transfer Danny Kaelin was trusted to lead the Wahoos to a win after Morris was ruled out. Unfortunately, a stagnant offense, combined with three UVA fumbles, led Virginia to lose 16-9. UVA would then go to Durham, North Carolina to play Duke on Nov. 15. UVA was up for the challenge and bounced back to beat the Blue Devils handily 34-17.

Tony Elliott hoisting the Commonwealth Cup after defeating Virginia Tech.

Everything was looking up for the ‘Hoos, as they walked into a bye week before their matchup against in-state rival Virginia Tech. The Virginia Tech game is always an extremely difficult game for UVA, due to Tech’s historical dominance and their fans’ ability to pack out every stadium they play at. UVA would also punch a ticket to the ACC championship game with a win. UVA soundly defeated VT 27-7, capped off by UVA’s second field storm of the season.

The ACC championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 6 did not end up being a repeat of the earlier matchup between these two teams. With a 10 point deficit with five minutes left, UVA was able to crawl back and tie the game with a touchdown pass from Morris to walk-on Eli Wood with 0:22 left on the clock. Duke scored first in overtime, as the UVA offense took the field. On first down, UVA ran a poorly-executed trick play, as Morris threw an interception to lose the ACC championship, 27-20, costing Virginia a chance to play in the College Football Playoff. 

Xay Davis (‘25) Taking a carry in the Gator Bowl. 

Even after the heartbreak, UVA still had to prepare for their bowl game against the Missouri Tigers in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 27 in Jacksonville, Florida. Missouri started the game by driving down the field quickly and scored a touchdown. UVA remained composed and scored 13 points from that moment on. Even though UVA was missing J’Mari Taylor, backup running backs Harrison Waylee and Collegiate graduate Xay Davis (‘25) combined for 109 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. UVA would end up holding on, winning 13-7, ending the season with 11 wins, the most in school history. After the season, Elliott became a finalist for the Bear Bryant Coach of The Year award.

UVA is trending in the right direction under Elliott in this new generation of college football. Virginia is currently No. 22 in Fox Sports’ way-too-early top 25 for the upcoming season. Heading into the season, UVA holds the 30th best transfer portal class currently, according to On3 sports. UVA will open their 2026 season against North Carolina State University on August 29 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

All photos by @uvafootball via instagram, unless otherwise specified.