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BY BRAD FRANKLIN A FTER WATCHING THE END of his redshirt first-year season get cut down by injury, then-second-year linebacker Henry Coley watched his second full campaign in 2012 as a member of UVa's defense get cut down by his own mistakes. Days before the team was to head to Raleigh, N.C., in October of that year to take on North Caro- lina State, Coley and three other players were sus- pended for a violation of team rules by head coach Mike London. The Virginia Beach, Va., native didn't play for the rest of that season, missing the final four games. But it's been the way that he's responded in the months since then that has given his career new life while also giving his team a leader it can trust. Coley started all 12 games for the Cavaliers in 2013, led the team with 91 tackles (12th in the ACC at 7.6 per game) and was named to the All-ACC Academic team for the second year in a row. The 6-2, 230-pound middle linebacker was chosen by his teammates as one of the team's four captains for 2014, providing even more positive vibes to what is already a remarkable turnaround. "You always want to learn and grow," Coley said. "Being a leader, it's not something that hap- pens to you overnight. It's a journey. It's not like, 'Oh, this happens and then all of a sudden you're a leader now.' It's a journey." Coley admits that his suspension two years ago still drives him, not only because of the time he lost, but also because of how close he was to losing it all. "That's not something that a lot of guys go through during their college career," he explained. "That's adversity of life, when you talk about what it takes to be in a certain environment. This wasn't something that happened in a game; this is something that happened in my life. I was on that chopping block, and guys were asking me if I was going to transfer. People thought I got kicked out of college, and that's something I had to deal with POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT Linebacker Henry Coley Has Made Great Strides On And Off The Field i20-21.Henry Coley.indd 1 6/3/14 2:35 PM