Shooting victim Hollins is among Comeback Player of Year honorees

Virginia running back Mike Hollins, who survived a shooting that left three of his teammates dead and returned to play for the Cavaliers less than a year later, is one of three recipients of college football’s Comeback Player of the Year Award announced Monday.

Michigan running back Blake Corum, who came back from a major knee injury to lead the top-ranked Wolverines in rushing and touchdowns, and Holy Cross linebacker Jacob Dobbs, who returned from a devastating arm injury to win conference defensive player of the year, are the other comeback players of the year for 2023.

The Comeback Player of the Year Award is voted on by AP Top 25 voters and sports information directors from around the country.

The players will honored at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

Hollins, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was one of two survivors of a shooting last November. Another Virginia student shot and killed Virginia football players D’sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler. Hollins was shot in the back, needed several surgeries and spent a week in the hospital before beginning a long rehabilitation.

Hollins returned to the team in time for preseason practice and went on to play 11 games this season. His best performance came in Virginia’s upset of North Carolina, running for 66 yards and three touchdowns against the then10th-ranked Tar Heels.

Hollins finished with eight touchdowns and 274 yards rushing this season.

Corum tore ligaments in his left knee in the second-to-last game of the 2022 regular season and missed Michigan’s final three games, including the College Football Playoff loss to TCU. He returned this season and remained the focal point of Michigan’s runheavy offense.

Corum ran for 1,028 yards and scored 24 touchdowns, most in the nation.

Dobbs was the Patriot League player of the year in 2021, but in the fourth game of the 2022 season he tore a ligament in his right elbow, a triceps tendon and a forearm muscle.

He was back on the field in 2023, playing nine games, leading the Patriot League in tackles at 13.7 per game and winning conference defensive player of the year for the second time in his career.

Daniels to skip LSU'S New Year's Day bowl

LSU’S Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels is skipping the Tigers’ bowl game against Wisconsin.

“Thank you to everyone who made this happen, but all great things must come to an end,” Daniels, a Cajon High grad, said in a video posted on social media on Monday. “I feel better about the state of the program with the quarterback moving forward.”

No. 13 LSU and Wisconsin are set to meet in the Reliaquest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, on New Year’s Day.

Garrett Nussmeier, who is now in his third season at LSU — and has two more seasons of eligibility left — is slated to start against the Badgers after serving as Daniels’ backup and seeing action in five games this season.

Daniels led the nation in total offense this season, passing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns to go with 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing.

He was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 9 in New York.

Western Kentucky rallies to bowl win

Redshirt freshman Caden Veltkamp came off the bench to throw for 383 yards and five touchdowns, Lucas Carneiro made a winning 29-yard field goal in overtime and Western Kentucky erased a 28-point deficit to beat Old Dominion 38-35 on Monday at the Famous Toastery Bowl in Charlotte.

Veltkamp, the Hilltoppers third-string quarterback who had thrown just six passes in his college career, threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth-andgoal with 19 seconds left in regulation to push the game into an extra period.

The Hilltoppers blocked a short field-goal attempt in overtime — their second blocked kick of the game — before Carneiro drilled his.

The Hilltoppers (8-5) played without starting quarterback Austin Reed, who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL draft. Veltkamp took over for Turner Helton midway through the first quarter with their team trailing 21-0.

The Hilltoppers would eventually go down 28-0 in the second quarter.

• UTSA (8-4) seeking its first bowl victory takes on Marshall (6-6) tonight in the Frisco Bowl. The Thundering Herd will be without assistant coaches let go after the regular season and at least nine players who went into transfer portal, including two-year starting quarterback Cam Fancher and leading receiver Caleb Coombs. USTA will be without AAC defensive player of the year Trey Moore.