The term "Tight end U" has become entrenched in the culture of Virginia football ever since Al Groh took over as head coach in 2001, and for good reason.
Groh and his coaching staff do not overlook the importance of tight ends when they put together their offensive schemes for Saturdays.
"We've always had a strong feeling about using [tight ends] as a major part of the gameplan," Groh said.
Tight ends have flourished in Groh's National Football League-style system. The epitome of the tight end position under Groh was the play of graduate and current Pittsburgh Steeler Heath Miller (2002-04), who caught 70 passes in 2003, the second most ever for a Cavalier receiver in a single season, and won the nation's Best Tight End Award in 2004. Additionally, he was a starter on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl-winning team of 2005-06.
The torch and pivotal role of the tight end position during Groh's regime has been passed on this season to three players -- seniors Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar and junior John Phillips.
With the big question mark at the wide receiver position coming into this season and the recent loss of junior wide receiver Maurice Covington to injury, it was important for the tight ends to step up and fill the need for receivers in the Cavalier offense. They have done just that. In fact, they have more catches than the wide receivers.
The primary function of the tight ends in most offenses is to block for the running backs while wide receivers generally catch more passes. The opposite is true, however, for Virginia's 2007 offense. Of the 74 completions by the quarterbacks, sophomore Jameel Sewell and freshman Peter Lalich, 30 of them have been to the tight ends (40.5 percent). For the wide receivers, the numbers decrease to 24 receptions and 32.4 percent.
The experience of Santi, Stupar and Phillips has created a unique situation for the Cavaliers -- they know that if someone is having a down day, someone else will have a good day and pick up the slack. Such versatile use of the tight ends has been especially crucial to the success of the Cavaliers this season.
"We've got veteran players at the tight end position," Groh said. "We've got talented players at the tight end position ... If it's not one [making plays] it's the other."
When all three tight ends are clicking, the Cavalier offense is that much more dangerous. Each tight end caught at least one pass Saturday, aiding Virginia's upset win over Georgia Tech. Stupar had six receptions, Santi had four and Phillips had two, his first receptions of the season.
"I think this is the first time that we've all three caught a pass in a game," Santi said. "We were talking about that, and it's a lot of fun ... when each other does well."
Phillips said it is the style of Virginia's offense that makes the tight ends look good.
"They give us the best schemes and the best plays," Phillips said.
The tight ends do their share of leg work, though. For instance, during Saturday's game against the Yellow Jackets, they were able to find the open zones in the defense.
The tight ends "just found their spots for me," Sewell said. "When [Georgia Tech] blitzed they left a lot of open gaps, so whenever they blitzed I tried to look there and I just hit my big players."
There has been obvious growth of the entire Cavalier offense this season and Santi, Stupar and Phillips have been a major part of it. If Virginia is to prove that its last two close wins -- won by an average of 3.5 points per game -- were not flukes, the tight ends must keep putting up big numbers for the offense. Luckily, close games are bringing unity to the entire team.
"We're just a band of brothers out here trying to play," Phillips said. "Tight games, they just bring us closer together as a family."
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