Bryce Hall celebrates with Jordan Mack earlier in his Virginia football career. His collegiate career over due to injury, the senior captain continues to influence his teammates. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Riley of Virginia Sports

The extent of Bryce Hall’s character and leadership has been on full display since the University of Virginia All-American cornerback suffered a season-ending ankle injury during a 17-9 loss at Miami on October 11.

Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall noted during his October 14 press conference – the one in which he confirmed the Cavaliers’ star would miss the rest of the season following ankle surgery – that the senior captain’s handling of the injury has been “exemplary.”

Junior safety Joey Blount recalled the senior captain’s reaction at the time of the injury.

“[Hall’s resilience] just makes you feel more resilient,” said Blount, who along with other UVA defensive backs are donning an orange “Believe” shirt with the number 34 inscribed in honor of Hall. “When I saw him on the ground and I walked over, he was not crying. When you see your ankle turned the other way, how are you not crying? He was so secure in that God had his back and this was part of the plan. He looked at us and said, ‘Keep playing.’ It just makes you play for something more than just yourself. It makes you play for a brotherhood you’ll never get a piece of ever again after we’re done here. This shirt just exemplifies how he believes in us and we believe right back in him.”

On the bus ride following the Miami game, Mendenhall recalled Hall telling him, “’Coach, I’m a human buoy.’” The “buoy” term, Mendenhall said, was in relation to a quote the two men shared a few weeks prior. The quote is “in relation to people who were human buoys. Nothing can get them down,” UVA’s coach said.

Hall certainly seems to fit the "buoy" description well, something that has helped his teammates move on as well.

“Bryce was - is - our leader still, on and off the field,” Blount said. “This week after surgery he was still in the film room. Somehow, someway he would make in there, watching film. He was really just helping the corners, helping Nick [Grant], helping De’Vante [Cross]. Whatever he sees he was just passing information on. His work ethic did not shake and he was still locked in.”

Hall’s roommate, redshirt junior cornerback Nick Grant, said: “From people from the outside there was kind of a sense of panic, but just seeing that he was calm kind of calmed all of us down. He was very calm. If he believes in us and he is an All-American, why would we not believe in ourselves? It was just a matter of playing for him. We’re all on the same level essentially in our room.”

Hall’s influence extends beyond the defensive backs.

“Bryce has been very positive dealing with his circumstances,” Hanback said. “He’s always going to be that way because that’s just the guy he is. He’s always going to be an encourager and an uplifter. A couple of days [before the Duke game] he texted me and J-Mack and Charles and just told us to keep leading and keep going. To hear that from him, he has our back no matter where he is or what he’s doing, it means a lot. His leadership off the field is just as good as it is on the field.”

Coach Howell Breaks The Rock

Virginia Co-Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Nick Howell became the first assistant coach to do the honors of breaking the rock, which has become a tradition following UVA victories in the Mendenhall era.