Humble and hard working, Virginia wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr. was striving for greatness

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Lavel Davis Jr. specialized in big plays.

When he broke onto the college football scene as a freshman in 2020, he ranked second in the nation by averaging 25.8 yards per catch. The 6-foot-7 South Carolina native was a big, flashy star in the making.

Off the field, Davis was quieter, far more understated than his on-field persona.

“Splash guys? Big play guys? He was the exact opposite,” said Davis’s high school coach, Woodland’s Eddie Ford said Monday night. “He was humble. He was the type of kid who let the way he played speak for him. He made a tremendous amount of plays for us, but he was not a braggadocios kid, not by no means. He was extremely humble.”

Davis was one of three UVa football players shot and killed Sunday night aboard a charter bus after returning to campus from a class trip to Washington, D.C.

Davis’s teammates, fellow wide receiver Devin Chandler and linebacker D’Sean Perry, died at the scene, their bodies found aboard the charter bus by university police. Davis was transported to the university medical center before dying.

Two other players – their identities have not been released – were injured, with one in critical condition.

“Saddening, saddening news this morning,” tweeted Davis’s cousin, Newberry College assistant football coach Sean Lampkin. “God took one of his most kind, humble, loving soldiers off of the battlefield last night. Please pray for my family as we are devastated by the passing of my cousin Lavel Davis Jr.

"Love and already miss you, kid.”

Davis’s father, Lavel Davis Sr. in a Facebook post, wrote simply, “Lord please help me.”

Virginia canceled its schedule basketball game against Northern Iowa on Monday night. It’s unclear if the football team will still play its home game Saturday against Coastal Carolina.

Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell spoke about the tragic shootings during a call with media members on Monday, and recalled his experience recruiting Davis.

“He was on campus here, and I was an assistant then,” said Chadwell. “I remember him vividly. That was actually my recruiting area, and so I know he was a fantastic player, but he was an exceptional, exceptional young man and you knew he was destined for some great things. Just heartbroken for him and the family there and all of the Woodland community because I know what he meant to them and I know every spring he’d come back and talk to their team and I know they’re hurting right now.”

Davis, a Dorchester, S.C. native, enjoyed a breakout freshman year for UVa, catching 20 passes for 515 yards and five touchdowns. His 25.8 yard-per-reception mark ranked second in the nation.

Still, he never lost that humility.

“After our first day of class this semester he made a point to come up and shake my hand and told me I should call him Vel,” tweeted one of his UVa professor’s, Jack Hamilton. “One thing that struck me about Vel was how much his classmates liked him and vice versa. In my experience star athletes often tend to hang out with other athletes (understandable, given the time commitment) but Vel seemed to go out of his way to make friends with non-athletes.”

A knee injury and subsequent surgery cost him the 2021 season.

Davis returned to the field this season, under new coach Tony Elliott, and made 16 catches for 372 yard and two scores, before missing the past two games with a concussion.

Beyond football, Davis volunteered with the school’s Groundskeepers, a group that advocates for social justice, in part, by bringing attention to aspects of the University’s past.

Ford said he was an avid fisherman, gamer and “loved to hoop,” suggesting Davis could have played college basketball if he chose to focus his talents on that sport.

“He really wanted to be great,” said Ford. “So, he was like a sponge at practice. Whatever you put into him, he absorbed it. Because he wanted to be the guy.”

That’s why Monday afternoon, with word of Davis’s death stunning Ford’s young players as they began preparations for a state semifinal playoff game, Ford started practice by talking about Davis.

“We talked about doing things the way Lavel would have wanted them done,” said Ford. “Just doing it the right way, going as hard as you can go. Because that’s what Lavel did. That’s what he represented.”