Entering the 2005 season, the Virginia football team wondered how it would respond without Heath Miller. His two replacements have set out to keep the Cavalier offense running on full cylinders.
This year, the Cavalier offense now will rely on fresh faces Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar to replace three-year starter Miller. Miller, the man affectionately called "Big Money" for his big-play talent, left after the 2004 season to enter the NFL draft.
The inexperience of the incoming players makes it seem, at least on paper, that it will be hard to replace Miller's solid consistency. Stupar, a redshirt sophomore, spent most of the 2004 season injured and appeared in just two games. Santi, a true sophomore, played in parts of 12 games, including two games as starting fullback.
Meanwhile, Miller, winner of the 2004 Mackey Award for being the nation's best tight end, is widely considered the greatest tight end in ACC history. In April, he joined the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers as a first-round selection.
Another opening at tight end came with the graduation Patrick Estes. Estes, now with the San Francisco 49ers, was the blocking tight end to complement Miller's lethal pass catching. Together they formed a valuable one-two offensive punch.
After an offseason to get acclimated to their full-time roles, Virginia coach Al Groh made clear that he intends for Santi and Stupar to be used in a multitude of situations.
"It's not like one's a blocker and one's a receiver," Groh said. "I wouldn't say they're the same type of player so much as they can do all the same jobs. It's not where we say 'This one's got to be in for that play and the other one's got to be in for another play.' They can both do the same jobs."
A lot also will depend on the comfort level each player develops with quarterback Marques Hagans.
"Where the ball goes or who gets used depends on the formation that we're in or the reads by the quarterback," Groh said.
Stupar and Santi both caught passes in Saturday's opener against Western Michigan. Stupar hauled in three catches for 34 yards. Santi also contributed, catching his first career touchdown in his only reception of the game. This catch, Virginia's quick opening drive, saw the Cavaliers go ahead 7-0 in the first two minutes.
Hagans said he saw positives and negatives in the young players' first test.
"The new tight ends did a good job blocking," said Hagans, who led the Cavs to a 31-19 victory. "We've got to get a little better timing on our passing routes. We've got some stuff to learn from the film, but it's definitely a big plus that we got the first win of the season and that we'll have something to build off of."
As the conference schedule starts, both players will be expected to overcome their relative inexperience.
"This is [Santi] and [Stupar's] first year playing tight end as starters," Hagans said. "They've got to get their time to build themselves up to the players that they could be.
With some more experience and luck, Santi and Stupar may very well be the combination to keep the Cavalier offense running smoothly for the next few years.
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