CHARLOTTESVILLE (WINA/UVA Athletics) – UVa wide receiver Malachi Fields — a Monticello High School grad — and running back Mike Hollins were two of the 15 semifinalists named for the 2023 College Football Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Fields’ 2022 season was cut short after a broken foot in the season opener sidelined him for the entire year. The junior wide receiver came back and was an All-ACC honorable mention in 2023.

Hollins was shot and in critical condition in November of last year, but after multiple surgeries participated in spring practice and played in 11 of the Hoos’ 12 games this past season. He scored 8 touchdowns… which was 15th-most in the ACC… and received the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award earlier this week as the “most courageous player”.

Three of the 15 semifinalists will be named “Comeback Player of the Year” on New Year’s Day at the 2024 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ.