By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — He’s missed Virginia’s past three football games, yet still stands second on the team in tackles, with 48. He also has an interception, and his fumble recovery on Sept. 7 proved pivotal in the Cavaliers’ comeback win over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Imagine the impact safety Antonio Clary might be having this season had he not hurt his knee on Oct. 5 against Boston College.
“Clary was playing at a high level, his best football, in my opinion all-conference level, before the injury,” UVA head coach Tony Elliott said this week at the Hardie Center.
The good news for the Wahoos is that Clary, with a brace on his left knee, returned to practice last week and is expected to play Saturday night in Pittsburgh. At 8 o’clock, Virginia (4-4, 2-3) meets No. 23 Pitt (7-1, 3-1) at Acrisure Stadium in a game to air on ACC Network.
“I’m good,” Clary said. “It’s just really about getting back out there full speed.”
It’s GAME DAY in the Steel City ‼️
🔶⚔️🔷#UVAStrong | #GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nU9T27m17z— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 9, 2024
Clary enrolled at UVA in January 2019, which makes this his sixth season of college football. Talent has never been an issue for him, but injuries have marred his career. Still, he doesn’t waste time on self-pity.
“I know things like this happen, and you just gotta keep fighting through it,” Clary said. “At the end of day it’s really just trusting the process and knowing that adversity comes with it. It’s the game of football, it’s a physical game, you’re gonna get banged up a little bit, so it’s really just staying [committed] and working to get back out there.”
A pulled hamstring delayed his debut as a true freshman in 2019, and that season ended prematurely for Clary, who tore his ACL in his fifth game. After the pandemic hit in March 2020, he had to rehab away from the UVA medical staff, back home in Jacksonville, Fla., which slowed his progress.
After he was cleared to play again, in September 2020, Clary appeared in nine games that fall, with three starts. He started three of the 12 games in which he played in ‘21 and then became a full-time starter in ’22, when he played in eight games.
He was expected to be one of the defense’s leaders in 2023, but Clary spent the season on the sidelines after tearing ligaments in his ankle during training camp…