GREENSBORO, N.C. Kam Chancellor rose through Norfolk’s youth football ranks as one of the biggest kids and best athletes—certainly no target for opponents to single him out as a weakness on the field. A quarterback and free safety in high school, he came to Virginia Tech, played cornerback as a freshman, moved to rover—Tech’s version of strong safety—as a sophomore and slid over to free safety last season. With each position change came adjustments, including coping with getting picked on by offenses.

Virginia Tech free safety Kam Chancellor will return for his senior season. Chancellor announced his intentions after Thursday’s 20-7 win over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl.

On the nights his mother was out working one of her three jobs, Kam Chancellor and his three brothers stayed home in their three-bedroom apartment, where all four bunked in the same room. There weren’t any Tonka trucks or fancy toys around the place to entertain them. Just each other and their imaginations. Their older sister Krystle, who is seven years older than Kam, babysat the boys and watched them hold competitions to see who could do the most jumping jacks. Or maybe they’d throw a sheet over the kitchen table and duck underneath it into their own magical house. Some nights, they’d rehearse a play and get the routine down pat by the time Mom walked through the door to see Kam, smooth dancer that he was, cutting a rug.