UVA football players honored in memorial service

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia players remembered teammates Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry during a memorial work connected Saturday, sharing stories and shedding tears -- each portion letting the satellite cognize however overmuch they would dedicate the remainder of their lives successful their memory.

With the Chandler, Davis and Perry families sitting successful the beforehand row, and the full shot teams successful the rows down them, the memorial was an accidental not lone for remembrances astir each three, but successful the words of University President Jim Ryan "to commencement the healing of our beloved university."

Chandler, Davis and Perry were changeable and killed past Sunday connected a charter autobus aft returning from a schoolhouse tract trip, devastating some the shot squad and the full Charlottesville community. Running backmost Mike Hollins was changeable and remains hospitalized. A 5th student, Marlee Morgan was changeable and is recovering astatine location with her family.

Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. has been charged with 3 counts of second-degree execution and the usage of a firearm successful the committee of a felony. Prosecutors person besides charged him with 2 counts of malicious wounding and further gun-related charges related to shooting Hollins and Morgan. He is being held without bail successful a Charlottesville jail.

Nobody astatine the memorial mentioned the mode Chandler, Davis and Perry died. Rather, they focused connected the mode they lived.

Pictures of each 3 players were displayed connected stage, on with diversion manager Carla Williams, manager Tony Elliott, Ryan and Virginia Rector Whitt Clement. The MLK Community Choir performed, and Grammy Award-winning gospel vocalist CeCe Winans sang, "Goodness of God."

Williams shared stories that their families told her -- Chandler, known arsenic "Devin the Dancing Machine" to his family. His uncle showed her a video of 10-year aged Devin arriving astatine way signifier early, getting retired of the car and "proceeding to enactment connected a one-kid creation disconnected successful the parking lot. His bushed was suspect, but his assurance was ne'er successful doubt."

Whenever Davis went home, helium wanted his grandma to navigator for him.

"He particularly loved the 18 scrambled eggs she would marque for him," Williams said.

As for D'Sean, erstwhile helium was 6 helium wanted to beryllium a reddish Power Ranger for Halloween. His parents bought him his costume, and helium didn't instrumentality it disconnected until aft Thanksgiving -- drafting a chuckle from the assemblage of 9,075, which included erstwhile Virginia manager Bronco Mendenhall, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and a ample contingent of erstwhile Virginia shot players, including Chris Long and Heath Miller.

Video montages of each player, featuring highlights and interviews, showed earlier players took the signifier to accidental a fewer words astir their fallen teammates. The memorial was the archetypal accidental for players to talk publically astir their teammates.

Virginia linebacker Chico Bennett Jr. paused aggregate times arsenic helium spoke astir Davis, his large grin and the mode helium would passionately support his broadside successful immoderate argument.

"The grief the loss, the heartache, the nonaccomplishment volition ne'er beryllium gone," Bennett said. "Now we conscionable larn however to negociate it. But alternatively than being sad, I'll retrieve the grin and bash close by you and proceed to pursuit our communal dreams of graduating and continuing our shot careers. Oh, what I would springiness to spot that grin of yours conscionable 1 much time. Unfortunately, I cannot, but I cognize you are smiling up determination and truthful acold that I volition bash the aforesaid down here. I emotion you small brother."

Others told comic stories arsenic a mode to grant their memories. Cornerback Elijah Gaines described Davis' emotion for his hometown of Ridgeville, S.C., a tiny assemblage little than an hr from Charleston. Gaines came to Virginia from New York -- many, galore times larger than Davis' hometown.

"I curse Lavel would marque Ridgeville dependable similar it was the biggest metropolis successful the world," Gaines said. "I'm beauteous definite there's lone 2,000 radical there. He had this 1 tattoo connected his arm, 187. I'm similar is that your country code? He's like, 'Nah it's my exit.' I'm like, 'An exit? Why you repping an exit?' That's wherever I'm from!"

Safety Donovan Johnson wanted to stock humorous stories astir Perry due to the fact that of the consciousness of wit helium had.

"He liked to get maine connected the field," Johnson said. "We were doing scout, and this was possibly aboriginal successful the play and I didn't get the call. He gave maine the incorrect telephone and manager looked astatine maine like, 'Bro what are you doing?' So aboriginal successful the season, helium asked maine what the telephone was. I was like, 'I got him.' I told him, 'You're blitzing.'

:So arsenic the play went on, helium walked up and helium noticed helium wasn't blitzing connected that play and past helium looked implicit astatine me. 'Bro, don't ever bash that again.' "I was like, 'Got you!'"

Kicker Will Bettridge was particularly poignant successful talking astir Perry, arsenic the 2 played unneurotic successful younker football, precocious schoolhouse and astatine Virginia.

"You were a relation exemplary to me, and a mentor to maine arsenic I watched your each determination and I wanted to beryllium conscionable similar you," Bettridge said. "You were a stone prima successful the community, giving backmost and helping others and doing everything for everyone earlier yourself. Your beingness was felt each and each time I was capable to stock it with you. You were the archetypal 1 to beryllium determination with maine aft a marque oregon a miss. Your outlook connected beingness ne'er changed.

"I strive to beryllium similar you successful galore ways, your enactment ethic, your compassion your mind-set, your loyalty. The satellite would beryllium a amended spot with much radical similar you D'Sean."

Running backmost Cody Brown echoed akin thoughts astir Chandler, successful a missive helium wrote to him.

"You lit our lives up similar a shining prima successful the sky. You had a peculiar acquisition erstwhile it came to talking to people, making them laugh, making them consciousness loved, it didn't substance if it was idiosyncratic you didn't cognize astatine each you could speech to them similar you knew them for years," Brown said. "Your joyousness for beingness was contagious and you made them happy. You were ever existent to yourself -- it was your satellite and were conscionable surviving successful it."

Elliott closed the programme with remarks that leaned heavy connected his faith, and committedness for brighter days ahead.

"To everyone present I say, we volition crook today's calamity into tomorrow's triumph," Elliott said. "We person a ngo going guardant and that ngo requires a tremendous magnitude of work amidst the symptom and suffering determination is hope. Weeping is going to past for the nighttime but large joyousness is coming successful the morning. Because of 1, 15, 41, we person the work to rebuild this assemblage and programme connected the bequest of their stars, and bash truthful successful specified a mode arsenic to bring airy unto the world.

"Lavel, Devin, D'Sean, I'm truthful looking guardant to the strength, motivation, courageousness and emotion that you each volition supply arsenic we triumph successful the days ahead. My young kings, whitethorn you observe successful paradise, and we volition observe connected this broadside each and each time with the airy of your stars."