CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins was back on the field Tuesday for his first full practice since he was shot by a former teammate four months ago.
Three student-athletes died in that incident, which happened on a bus during a team trip.
Hollins survived, and his return to the field was one of the highlights as spring practice got underway for the University of Virginia football team. The session included a long pass completion to Hollis along one of the sidelines.
The Baton Rouge University Lab alum is a running back for the Cavaliers, whose coach said he was back in full form.
“Mike was full go,” Tony Elliott said after practice. “Obviously, I want to be smart with his progression, back in, but he did everything in winter workout, so he was full go today.
“I’ve been so, so impressed with him just all the way around physically, how his body has recovered — but more importantly, just how spiritually, mentally, he’s responded and prepared himself to get back out here and compete. So I’m really, really proud of of how he’s progressed.”
Collins said this spring and the season to come would pose challenges to the team, which is still working through what he called the “emotional aspects” of a return to normalcy.
Hollins is a fifth-year senior who was named to the Academic All-ACC team in 2022.
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