UVA alum Chris Long opens up in interview after three were killed in shooting at University of Virginia

Chris Long struggled to find the right words after three Virginia football players were killed in a shooting near campus Sunday night. A UVA alumnus and Charlottesville native, Long felt he had to say something, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized this tragedy, like the countless that have preceded it, is unexplainable.

Cavaliers linebacker D’Sean Perry and receivers Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler all lost their lives, while running back Mike Hollins was hospitalized after being shot. Still working to process that reality, Long joined the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday night, where he did his best to describe the feeling from the Virginia community.

“Words, they don’t mean anything in a situation like this,” he said. “I was sitting there trying to type something out because I was numb. I was really numb to it. Again, that’s a word I hear all the time. People are numb. You don’t know what it means until the proximity is really close to you I feel like. I’m trying to type something out and I legitimately don’t have the words. Every word you type is not sufficient, numb included. Devastated, crushed, whatever it is.”

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Long was a defensive end at Virginia from 2004-07, and has remained close with the program since. For that reason, the shooting hit him close to home, as he knows many of the current members of the team, both staff and players.

That includes receivers coach Marques Hagan, who was also Long’s college teammate. Through Hagan, Long got to know Davis, and can’t fathom the fact he won’t be able to return to his family over the holidays.

But as much as Chris Long hurts, he is also confident that the Virginia community will come together as a result in the tragic shooting and ensure the memory of those lost lives on.

“The proximity is pretty close to me and my family,” he said. “Charlottesville’s a small town. It’s a college town and the program’s pretty tight-knit. One of my best friends in the world, Marques Hagans, coaches the receivers. It’s like he’s lost family members. He cared about these kids so much. The three of them were such bright kids and there’s still a player fighting for his life in the hospital going through surgeries and that sort of thing. It’s such an ugly feeling. Life is short, people die. There are terrible surprises. The older you get, I feel like you see more and more of it and you get used to it, but you never get used to this where somebody just takes somebody’s life.

“These three kids were so bright. I got to know Lavel Davis pretty good just because he was so close to Marques and that family. He was just such a wonderful kid. These kids bust their ass and they sacrifice so much to play this game and represent the university. To think you’re getting ready to go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and then one day you get shot, it’s just the saddest thing in the world and it’s gonna really test the resolve of this community. But I think Virginia students, Charlottesville, the athletic department, there’s a lot of strong people here and they’ll try to rally around one another. But the words don’t do it justice. They really don’t.”