Preseason-profile on Virginia's Zed Williams
Family is everything for Virginia attackman Zed Williams.
So when the soft-spoken senior’s father, Daniel, died Friday, it jolted the Cavaliers’ program in an unusual way.
“Most of us have never known someone like Zed Williams,” coach Lars Tiffany said. “He has a purity about him with who he is as a man. He’s the most honest, loving, giving man that many of us have ever met. It makes it all the more personal and all the more easy to grieve with him. We saw that it was easy to tell Zed was really hurting. The rest of us sort of grabbed onto his emotions and rallied around him and for him.”
Williams, a member of the Seneca Nation, played in Virginia’s victory over Richmond on Saturday but left for western New York immediately after the game.
One of the current Cavaliers’ parents offered the use of a private plane on Monday, allowing Tiffany, former Virginia coach Dom Starsia and current players Joe French and Jeff Kratky to visit the Williams family. In the Iroquois culture, visitation occurs at home.
Virginia defeated Cleveland State 20-7 on Tuesday in Williams’ absence, and French scored four goals with the letters “DW” scrawled on his right leg.