By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE –– He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia in 1995, but Charles Way has never worked in that field. His professional life led him down other paths.
After graduating from UVA, Way spent 21 years in the NFL, first as a player and then as an executive, and he now works primarily in real estate. Still, if he’s never actually been employed as engineer, he’s made good use of the skills he learned in a demanding curriculum at the University.
“Problem-solving is always a key component of any engineer’s purpose,” Way said on a Zoom call from his home in Wayne, N.J. “So being in player development, just trying to figure out how to get things done and how to make players and coaches and ownership work together, is a task in itself, and that’s what I did for almost 15 years.”
Way, a bruising fullback who was a team captain at UVA, joined the New York Giants as a sixth-round draft pick in 1995. In his five seasons with the Giants, he rushed for 1,356 yards, caught 118 passes and scored 14 touchdowns.
A knee injury ended Way’s playing career prematurely, but he found other ways to contribute to the organization. He spent 14 years as the Giants’ director of player development before leaving the team in 2014 to head the NFL’s department of player engagement. In that role, he oversaw the programs and services that were provided to all NFL teams.
Way, who’s from Philadelphia, grew up in a family that stressed the importance of education.
“I had people throughout my entire life always putting those expectations on me,” he said. “They were like, I know football is your dream, but if it doesn’t work out, you need to have a backup plan. And fortunately for me, I had two great parents that encouraged me and sometimes forced me to do some of the things that I didn’t want to do.
“In Philadelphia at the time, when I graduated eighth grade, they had just started a program to introduce minorities into engineering. And so that was during the summer, and as reluctant as I was about spending my summers in school again, I did that, and I enjoyed the time. We had a chance to experience college life while also getting exposed to the different fields of engineering, which was helpful, because it actually helped me prepare for the curriculum for my ninth-grade year and all the subsequent years after. And so I enjoyed it. It did one thing, if nothing else. It did tell me what I wanted to do and what I didn’t want to do, and it helped me actually pick the school that I eventually went to.”
He enrolled at UVA in the summer of 1990 and redshirted during a season in which the Wahoos rose to No. 1 in the polls. His ascent on the depth chart began in 1991, and as an upperclassman Way ranked among the nation’s top fullbacks.
A powerful blocker, he was also a gifted runner who averaged 4.9 yards per carry as a Cavalier. Way twice rushed for more than 100 yards in a game, totaling 136 (and three TDs) against Maryland in 1994 and 132 (and one TD) against NC State in 1994. He finished his UVA career with 1,330 yards rushing.
During his five seasons in head coach George Welsh’s program, the Hoos finished 8-4, 8-3-1, 7-4, 7-5 and 9-3, respectively. Were he entering college football today, Way noted, he’d probably be a linebacker, the other position at which he starred at Northeast High School in Philly. Fullbacks are a vanishing breed in the modern game.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” said Way, who was listed at 6-foot, 245 pounds in the NFL, “and there really isn’t a position for a player of my stature on the offensive side, because I wasn’t that fast, and that’s not what the game has kind of trended toward.”
Way and his wife, Tahesha Way, have four children, the youngest of whom is 7 years old. Their daughter Faythe is in her first year at UVA, where she’s on the dance team, and her parents are looking forward to supporting her at football and basketball games whenever their schedules allow.
The Ways were in Charlottesville last weekend for the UVA-Duke football game at Scott Stadium. Way said he found himself reminiscing about his college days, especially the people he met.
“I’m not just talking about the students and the staff, I’m just talking about the town,” Way said. “People in general, in Virginia and Charlottesville, were different than where I came from.”
He laughed. “In Philadelphia, people didn’t talk to you when you walked down the street. So you’re walking past a person [in Charlottesville], and they’re speaking to you and saying, ‘Hello, how are you?’ And you’re like, ‘What is going on here? You don’t know me.’ In Philly, you only speak to people you know.
“And so just the welcoming and caring people that were there is one of the first things that stuck out to me when I came to Virginia. The second thing is, you just can’t beat the environment, being around people that care just about you as a person even if they don’t know you. Even my daughter said this to me this past week, ‘I’m having more fun here than I would have had if I would gone to any other school.’ It’s that environment, that culture that Virginia is cultivating, which I love. I love the fact that when you go to Virginia, everyone feels as though they’re a part of one big family.”