Virginia Football Player Mike Hollins Jr. Has Bullet Removed, Recovering After 2nd Surgery

BATON ROUGE, La. - University of Virginia running back Mike Hollins Jr. was recovering and doing well after a second surgery on Tuesday morning, a former coach of his at University High in Baton Rouge told OutKick.

"They removed a bullet on Monday and went back in to check on a few things this morning," U-High head coach Andy Martin said Tuesday afternoon. "The early prognosis is he's going to be OK."

Hollins' liver, kidney and bowels were examined in the procedure Tuesday.

"They were all good, but they had to remove some small intestines," said Martin, who has been in contact with Hollins' mother, Brenda Hollins. She is with her son in Charlottesville, Virginia, at a hospital.

Hollins was on a bus with other Virginia students and football players Sunday night that had just returned to campus from Washington D.C., where the students had gone to a play.

Shortly after 10:15 p.m., three of his teammates were shot and killed - junior linebacker D'Sean Perry of Miami, junior wide receiver Lavell Davis Jr. of Dorchester, S.C., and junior wide receiver Devin Chandler of Huntersville, N.C.

Another student was also shot, and is doing well.

Police apprehended suspect Christopher Darnell Jones, a former Virgiinia running back in the 2018 season from Petersburg, Virginia, on Monday after a 12-hour manhunt on campus. Jones, 22, was arrested on three charges of second-degree murder. He is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Hollins Signed With Virginia In 2019 Out Of U-High On The LSU Campus.

Hollins has played in nine games with two starts for Virginia this season and has 215 yards on 53 carries with two touchdowns. The Cavaliers (3-7) are scheduled to host Coastal Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Virginia's Game Vs. Coastal Carolina Saturday Up In The Air

The status of that game had not been announced as of Tuesday, a University of Virginia spokesman told OutKick.

Classes were canceled at Virginia on Monday and Tuesday.

"I cannot find the words to express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today after the tragic events Sunday night that resulted in the deaths of Lavel, D’Sean and Devin, and the others who were injured," Virginia coach Tony Elliott said in a statement. "These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures.

"Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon. We are all fortunate to have had them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university and community. Rest in peace, young men."

Virginia athletic director Carla Williams also released a statement.

"As a mother of three children, I ache for the parents and family members," she said. "We lost three talented and bright young men. We will never see what their impact on the world would have been, but we will never forget their impact on us. I miss Lavel, D’Sean and Devin. I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones. For their teammates, coaches and friends, I pray for strength and a peace that surpasses all understanding."

"Mike is a great kid," Martin said. "He's a very well-rounded kid. He loves playing football, and he was very much into the arts when he was here. He liked pottery. We're all praying for him."

Written by
Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.