Tragedy to triumph — four years later, still UVA Strong

Virginia and Tony Elliott honor Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry

UVA Strong adorns the field at Scott Stadium | Courtesy Virginia Athletics

Someone unfamiliar with Virginia football might observe the numbers 1-15-41 and ask a simple question: What do they mean?

Coach Tony Elliott has an answer. 

This week, 1-15-41 takes center stage as Virginia prepares to host Delaware Saturday night. Elliott is asking the community to show up and “be UVA Strong.”

“Just want to take a few seconds to acknowledge UVA Strong Day,” Elliott said Tuesday. “It's a big, big day for our program, especially with this staff. I think everybody knows what happened back in November of ‘22, and it's something that, as a program, we carry forward every single day. As I said back then, that we were going to turn tragedy into triumph, and we were not moving on. We were moving forward.”

UVA student-athletes Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed Nov. 13, 2022 aboard the bus back from a field trip. Mike Hollins and Marlee Morgan were injured. The entire UVA community mourned and supported one another. 

Elliott made sure they will never be forgotten. Lavel, Devin and D’Sean became the very pillars of Virginia football through their numbers 1, 15 and 41.

“And here we are, almost four years forward, and still, it's a very, very big component of our program,” Elliott said. 

Today, every Cavalier who wears No. 1, 15 or 41 dons a special jersey patch honoring their respective former wearer. The three numbers are also displayed on the field at Scott Stadium, around the concourse and in the Football Operations Center. 

There are still seven players who were part of the team four years ago — kicker Will Bettridge, linemen Noah Josey, McKale Boley and Noah Hartsoe, running back Xavier Brown, tight end Dakota Twitty and punter Daniel Sparks. They know just how important 1-15-41 is to this program.

Bettridge changed his number from 17 to 41 after his freshman season to honor D’Sean, a former high school teammate and close friend. 

“They're the ones that are educating, the rest of the new players on the staff, just to who Lavel, Devin and D’Sean are as human beings, first and foremost, and then also as football players,” Elliott said. 

Virginia’s head coach added that his team will “be prepared to play and understand the significance of this game.”

Nov 14, 2022; Charlottesville, VA, USA; Members of Beta Theta Pi hung up a Charlottesville Strong poster. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Elliott credited the strength of people who were with the program in 2022 and decided to stay after experiencing the unthinkable. 

“I just would hope that everybody would show up and be UVA Strong because, to be honest with you, the expectation that we've created about winning here, a lot of it is a result of what happened then because a bunch of folks, staff and players, decided to stay and to stand in a very difficult time,” Elliott said. “And that's probably what I'm most proud of. And then all that happens after that is just kind of icing on the cake, but we are where we are by no doubt because of Lavel, Devin and D’Sean and the legacies and the privilege of carrying that forward."

A vast majority of Virginia’s roster was not with the program in 2022. However, some of them were recruits — high school stars who had to make a choice, and many of them stuck with the Cavaliers. There are also several assistant coaches who made the choice to stay.

Elliott makes an effort to connect with them about 1-15-41. But he goes beyond that.

“There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about those young men,” Elliott said. “Not a day goes by [when] I don’t think about their families and pray for their families.”

Elliott maintains relationships with the Davis, Chandler and Perry families — and for the first time, all three mothers will be in attendance for UVA Strong Day. There remains an open invitation for the families to play an active role in Virginia’s program and educate the newest Cavaliers on what it means to be UVA Strong.

Every year, Virginia has a UVA Strong game as well as several events around Nov. 13. Almost all current students were not on Grounds back in 2022, but they too are reminded and encouraged to engage with a University-wide effort to honor Lavel, Devin and D’Sean. 

“My hope is that UVA will show up Saturday and be UVA Strong for the Davis, Chandler and Perry families — It puts everything in perspective,” Elliott said. “We were quickly reminded because this past Sunday was D’Sean’s birthday. It puts everything back in perspective. And to be honest with you, I sit here a better man, a better father, a better husband, a better coach because of what happened four years ago. I'm proud to be able to be a part of that.”

“And I'm proud to be able to carry forward my weight of the burden. This is not a checklist item for us. This is not about painting the field. This is who we are. And it's a part of our journey moving forward.”