UVA football player wounded in shooting gets out of hospital

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RICHMOND, Va. – A University of Virginia football player who was seriously wounded in a shooting that killed three of his teammates has been released from the hospital.

Brenda Hollins, the mother of running back Mike Hollins, tweeted early Monday: “Mike has been discharged!!! HALLELUJAH.”

She asked for continued prayers “as he recovers and settles into his new life.” She also asked for prayers for the families of the three players who were killed in the Nov. 13 shooting. “They need us!!!” she wrote.

Joe Gipson, a spokesman for the Louisiana law firm where Brenda Hollins works, said Mike Hollins was released from the UVA Medical Center on Sunday. Gipson said Mike Hollins will be staying with his family at an offsite location near the hospital for the next few weeks for follow-up medical appointments.

Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were shot and killed on a charter bus as they returned to campus from a field trip to see a play in Washington. Each died of a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Authorities have said that Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a UVA student and former member of the football team who was on the trip, began shooting at students on the bus as it pulled to a stop at a campus parking garage.

A prosecutor said in court last week that a witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims, shooting one as he slept. Two other students were wounded. Student Marlee Morgan was released from the hospital last week. A spokesperson for the Hollins family said last week that Hollins, who was shot in the back, underwent multiple surgeries and was making progress in his recovery.

Jones, 23, faces second-degree murder and other charges stemming from the shooting, which set off a manhunt and 12-hour campus lockdown before Jones was apprehended in suburban Richmond. Jones is being held without bond.

Authorities have not released a motive.

South Carolina gives AD Tanner raise, two-year extension

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner received a two-year contract extension that ties him to the school through June 2026.

Tanner, 64, is a two-time College World Series champion as the Gamecocks’ baseball coach who moved to leading the athletic department in July 2012.

The new deal was approved by the school’s board of trustees Friday and replaces Tanner’s old agreement that was set to expire in June 2024. Tanner will receive a raise of more than $153,000 per season, increasing his total compensation to $1.175 million.

Tanner has had his ups and downs leading the department. He took over when football coach Steve Spurrier was in the middle of three straight 11-2 seasons with players like defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney and receiver Alshon Jeffrey.

Tanner’s hire to replace Spurrier, Will Muschamp, lasted less than five seasons before he was let go in the middle of 2020. Muschamp’s replacement, current coach Shane Beamer, has had back-to-back winning seasons and been to a bowl game his first two yeas.

Tanner has also overseen the rise of women’s basketball under coach Dawn Staley, who signed a seven-year contract before the 2021-22 season worth $22.4 million. Staley and the Gamecocks won the national title last April and are favorites to repeat this season.

Michigan RB Blake Corum says he’ll be back by fall camp

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan All-America running back Blake Corum said his surgically repaired left knee has gotten strong enough that he’s been cleared to run on an anti-gravity treadmill next week.

Corum said that he is “100%” sure he will play in the season-opening game on Sept. 2 against East Carolina

Corum tore a meniscus and sprained a ligament in his left knee against Illinois on Nov. 19. After playing sparingly against Ohio State, he sat out when the Wolverines won the Big Ten title and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Instead of entering the NFL draft, Corum decided to stay in school for his senior year.

“Feeling great all-around mentally, physically spiritually,” Corum told The Associated Press.

The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Corum ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and had 952 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.

“I’ll be back definitely by fall camp,” he said. “I plan on doing everything in the summer workouts, depending on on what doctor says. He told me I shouldn’t be cutting until maybe June. I’m taking my time, but I will be ready by the season.”

Corum will be watching when his teammates face each each other in the Maize and Blue spring game on April 1 at Michigan Stadium.