Virginia RB Jones remains in ICU after surgery

Virginia running back Perris Jones remains in ICU at Louisville Medical Center as he continues to recover from spinal cord surgery following a helmet-to-helmet hit last week against Louisville.

Coach Tony Elliott said Tuesday during his weekly news conference the nature of the surgery requires a weeklong stay in the intensive care unit. He said doctors are hopeful Jones will be transferred to Frazier Rehabilitation Institute in Louisville on Friday, where he is expected to stay for several weeks.

Elliott and the coaching staff were able to see Jones via Zoom on Monday.

“It was good to see his face,” Elliott said. “He was smiling, he was happy, telling us to tell the guys keep fighting.”

Ashley Murray, an assistant athletic trainer with the Virginia football team, has been with Jones since the injury happened last Thursday night. In addition, Elliott thanked the Louisville staff for visiting Jones and his family, and all the doctors and trainers who helped get Jones immobilized and to the hospital.

“Thank yous to everybody involved,” Elliott said. “We’re optimistic and hopeful, but it’s a long road ahead for Perris.”

The injury hit Virginia players particularly hard, given everything they have been through over the past year. Monday was the one-year anniversary of the shooting deaths of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry. Running back Mike Hollins was also injured in the shooting. He and Jones are roommates.

Elliott said he gave his players the space they needed Monday to grieve the way they wanted to grieve. There were several ways the three players were remembered across campus. Several players, Elliott and athletic director Carla Williams attended a university panel focused on community and individual healing in the aftermath of gun violence.

Perry’s mother, Happy, participated and kicker Will Bettridge — Perry’s close friend — also spoke. The UVA Chapel bells tolled three times in their honor. There also was an evening vigil, and an opportunity to visit the three plaques placed in permanent remembrance of the players outside Scott Stadium.

“The message was guys, this is just part of our normal now. It’s part of what we’ve been called to do. It’s gonna be a tough day, and I can’t tell anybody how to make it through this day, but we’re going to do it together,” Elliott said. “You saw different reactions from different individuals. Some guys it’s still very, very, very real, like it was yesterday. And you see some guys that have been able to move forward a little bit. But it was an awesome celebration.

“Happy Perry helped me with this. She said it’s not an anniversary. It’s a day of remembrance. So looking at it from that perspective helped me yesterday, and I thought the administration and everybody involved did an unbelievable job of coordinating all of the different events that took place. I just thought it was a beautiful day all the way around.”