He wore a green hoodie and black sweatpants while he tossed the football around with his father, little brothers and little sister. On Saturday, Jonas Sanker will suit up in his orange and blue uniform for the final time at Scott Stadium, but this was Tuesday, and a game of catch was breaking out on the front lawn of his family’s home.
“Throw it back this way, Dad,” Jonas, a star safety for the University of Virginia football team, said to George Sanker, who was suddenly surrounded by his children.
George pumped the ball twice at his 15-year-old son, Thomas, turned briefly in the direction of his 12-year-old daughter, Lena, before setting his feet on a pile of leaves and launching a spiral well over Jonas’ head.
Jonas Sanker has represented his family well this football season. The senior safety has been named ACC Defensive Back of the Week a school-record four times. (UVA Athletics photo)
George, just 57, lives with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and can no longer form words. Facial expressions can instead reveal how he’s feeling. In this moment, as Jonas chased after the errant pass, George smiled.
“I think what he really appreciates is me being able to be around him and help him as much as I do,” Jonas said. “I can tell he’s happy.”
Assisting the Chaos
Jonas, who turns 22 on Saturday, is the third-oldest of seven Sanker children. In addition to Thomas and Lena, 11-year-old Elias lives in the family’s brick home on Charlottsville’s north side.
It can all feel chaotic for Jeannette Sanker, the family matriarch, who does her best to manage her kids’ busy schedules while continuing to care for her husband. Like their father, a former college football player at Colgate University, all the Sankers play sports.
“It’s a big challenge at times,” Jeannette said. “I draw on a broad community for help.”
At the top of that list is Jonas. The Cavaliers’ leader in tackles and takeaways also likely ranks first among his teammates in rides given to middle schoolers and high schoolers. Thomas, Lena and Elias rarely miss games, practices or school. Jonas has made sure of it.
“It’s a great blessing in so many ways,” Jeannette said. “If I’m in a bind and call him up on different occasions and ask if he can pick up his brothers or sister, he’s always willing to do it. He’s so generous with his time.”
“If I ever need a ride somewhere,” said Thomas, a sophomore football, basketball and lacrosse player at the Covenant School, “I’ll call up Jo, and he’s there in 15 minutes.”
On weekends when the fourth-oldest Sanker, 19-year-old Lukas, comes home from boarding school at Woodberry Forest, Jonas often accepts the task of taking him back.
Jonas, here with Annie, one of the family’s two dogs, has excelled at balancing football, family and academic responsibilities. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
“And that’s a 45-, 50-minute drive on a Sunday night when I have to get up at 5:30 on a Monday,” Jonas said. “But it is what it is. I just want to help in whatever way possible. I don’t complain or put up a fight. If my mom needs something, I’ll be the first to do it.”
It’s not just transportation. Jonas can also provide a relatable voice whenever his younger siblings face typical teenage issues.
“He’s helped me grow,” Thomas said. “He’s really easy to talk to. If I ever need anything, I just go to him … girl problems, just anything like that. He’s so good.”
Jeannette doesn’t have an exact way to describe it other than saying Jonas “has a certain presence” about him when around his family. She loves seeing her kids light up when he comes through the door for a night of video games and junk food.
Her heart grows especially warm when witnessing Jonas hang with George.
“It’s so sweet,” she said.
A New Kind of Bond
George was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020. The former doctoral candidate at UVA once served as Covenant’s headmaster and instilled in his children a firm order of priorities.
Academics always came before athletics.
Last fall, the Covenant School, where Jonas attended and George served as headmaster for 10 years, dedicated its courtyard space as “Sanker Commons.” (Contributed photo)
Jonas learned this rule the hard way in middle school when he was forced to miss multiple basketball games because of his C average in one class.
“I was frustrated at the time because, in my mind, a C wasn’t that bad,” Jonas said. “It’s like, ‘Why did he feel the need to hold me out because of a C?’
“Looking back now, I understand the message – how you do anything is how you do everything. It’s the same thing (Virginia head football coach Tony Elliott) preaches. My dad could tell my focus wasn’t on school because I didn’t want it nearly as much as I wanted other things.”
Years later, Jonas is trending toward a foreign affairs degree from UVA, as well as a professional football career. He’s turned into the model student-athlete his father always knew existed.
It’s just that now, as Jonas is on the brink of wrapping a second straight All-Atlantic Coast Conference season, George can no longer comprehend his son’s success.
“He doesn’t know what Jonas necessarily does (on the field), or that Jonas is his son out there,” Jeannette said. “It’s been really sad to watch, but I do know for a fact that he would be incredibly proud of him.”
The Jonas Sanker Award🏆@JonasSanker
4x @ACCFootball DB of the Week ‼️😤
The most in school history. #UVAStrong | #GoHoos ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/2RV9RTvz91— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) November 18, 2024
Jonas has long come to grips with the nature of his dad’s condition. A brutal disease blocks the two from having a traditional father-son relationship anymore.
But what Alzheimer’s fails to prevent is Jonas and George still having fun together.
They’ll toss a football around in the front yard. They’ll have a dance party in the living room.
“I love watching their interactions,” Jeannette said. “Jonas has figured out how to interact with George in different ways and what George still enjoys and loves. And one of those things is music. So, they’ll put on music and dance around, be goofy.”
It could be 1980s soft rock, George’s favorite genre, or modern pop or R&B. Jonas plays it, and his dad reacts. Thomas said the Sanker family group chat is regularly updated with videos of George grooving to a variety of tunes.
“The most recent one that really gets him going is ‘Shape of You’ by Ed Sheeran,” he said. “After a couple of songs, the whole family starts to join in.”
‘We’re So Proud’
George, because of his condition, won’t be in attendance Saturday for Jonas’ final home game – UVA and Southern Methodist University clash at noon – but a support crew will still run deep.
