Is UVa becoming Tight End U?
Depth, talent ensure spot will remain offensive threat
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 22, 2006

Storied programs like Louisiana State and Tennessee were hot on the recruiting trail three years ago for Tom Santi.

Finances were not an issue - both offered scholarships to the four-star tight end. LSU and Tennessee, however, did not have “Big Money.”

Heath Miller, an All-American tight end at Virginia in 2004, silently secured a commitment from Santi and he might not have ever known it.

“Big Money” did it with his actions, not his words. Miller set ACC records for tight ends with 144 receptions, 1,703 yards and 20 touchdowns.

“Being able to see it for myself was enough for me,” Santi said. “We don’t use our tight ends just as blockers. We are pass-catchers as well as blockers. We get to do a lot of stuff.”

That extra “stuff” helped Virginia not only land Santi, but also junior Jon Stupar, sophomore John Phillips and true freshman Joe Torchia.

Don’t expect the flow of tight ends to stop. UVa has already landed a commitment for 2007 from Andrew Devlin.

“If a player would like to be a tight end and not a tackle with a tight end’s number, the facts would seem to say this is a pretty good place where you really get to play tight end,” Virginia coach Al Groh said.

That’s not just coach-speak. Stats back Groh up.

“If you look at the numbers, obviously we look at them because we have them, but of the 12 ACC teams,” Groh said, “Virginia tight ends have caught 295 passes. The next closest is 200, the next closest after that is 197 and the next closest after that is under 150.”

Give Groh a gold medal for the debate club, but another question remains unanswered. Are the Cavaliers’ tight ends the tops in the nation?

“I think this should be a pretty attractive place at this point to tight ends,” Santi answered.

Is Virginia turning into a factory that produces tight ends ready to follow in Miller’s footsteps at the professional level?

“I think a lot of people want to call it ‘Tight End U,’” Santi said. “As far as I’m concerned, we have a good group of guys that play tight end, and we go out and work every day and try to help the team whatever way we can.”

Many have called Penn State “Linebacker U.” Groh would probably prefer that given his love for the 3-4 defense, but considering his initial plan at UVa involved using tight ends extensively, he is not complaining.

“We’d be real happy with that [nickname],” Groh said. “Certainly, it made more sense to use them, so it was a combination of we were kind of looking in that direction to start with. And then we had the players who could make it happen and then two things kind of grew where we found expanded way to use them and then that becomes very attractive to the next generation of tight ends so we hope that’s something we can keep going for quite some time.

“But it’s our objective to be on a year to year basis to be a very strong tight end team.”

This season should be no exception.

Santi and Stupar combined for 43 catches last season and the competition is only getting better as Phillips matures and Torchia learns the system.

That does not translate into angry pupils in practice. Santi said the tight ends just motivate each other.

“We don’t really have the competition for snaps that I think some people may perceive,” Santi said. “We just really push each other. I feel fortunate to have those guys back there because you can’t ever slack off. You can’t ever take a play off because the guy right behind is coming in and about to do the same thing that you are. It is great to have a good group of guys that push each other.”

Every practice and every play is also exciting as Groh continually looks for creative ways to get the tight ends involved.

“Sometimes we are in the backfield, sometimes we are split out wide and sometimes we are on the line of scrimmage in normal tight end sets,” Santi said. “It is a lot of fun to be able to do those things and be versatile at the position.”

Groh has even mentioned the possibility of using three ends at once during training camp.

“It is a big tight end school so you know we are going to see some action out there,” said Phillips, who caught two passes for 27 yards as a rookie. “That’s real positive for all us as tight ends.”

Despite all the hype and hoopla surrounding the tight ends at Virginia, pressure still remains.

Statistics, as Santi has said, look good on the backs of trading cards. They do not always translate into victories, but this group just keeps plugging along.

“We are working hard and have had a tough camp,’ Santi said. “I feel like we made good strides and we are just ready to get the season underway.

“We have had some setbacks with the guys leaving the team and with other things but you can’t focus on those things. If you do you are dooming yourself.”

If all goes well the only doom that Santi, Stupar, Phillips and Torchia will see is in the eyes of opposing defenders.

 

Mines takes it all on
Senior wideout embracing new challenges
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
August 22, 2006

On the inside of Virginia wide receiver Fontel Mines’ left forearm are two tattoos. One reads, “Born to be hated.” The other says, “Dying to be loved.”

“It’s kind of an athlete’s point of view on life,” Mines explained. “Playing sports [there are] a lot of people [that] don’t expect you to do well, and then once you do, you kind of look at life in a different way - just to do the best you can. It’s kind of what I live by.”

Given Mines’ body art, it’s not surprising who his favorite NFL players are - Terrell Owens, Randy Moss and Chad Johnson.

But Mines’ all-time favorite athlete - future Hall of Famer Jerry Rice - wasn’t nearly as loquacious.

“He had tremendous work ethic and dedication to the game,” Mines said. “He once said he was in search of the perfect practice, the perfect game and the perfect route.

He never found it, [yet] he’s still considered the best receiver ever. It’s something to live by.”

This preseason, Virginia coach Al Groh has singled Mines out for some Rice-like qualities. “He’s been one of the best leaders on the team since last winter,” Groh said. “There’s not much more we can ask of Fontel.”

Mines, who grew up in Richmond, says his mother, Deborah, has been the driving force in his football career.

“She gave me my work ethic,” he said. “It was a tough environment trying to stay out of trouble, but I stayed focused with her guidance. She helped me through.”

This season, with a new quarterback (Christian Olsen) and an injury to the team’s top returning receiver (Deyon Williams), Mines, a senior, knows he is being counted on heavily.

“It’s a tremendous loss when you look at the things [Williams] brought to the field last year - work ethic, leadership,” Mines said. “But we have guys who are ready to step up.”

Mines, who loves to write poetry in his spare time, seems ready to be one of them. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder, who was second on the team with 28 receptions last season, has an air of confidence.

The avid pick-up basketball player once offered his services to Virginia coach Dave Leitao.

“I think I could hold my own,” said Mines, smiling. “I told [Leitao] I could walk on and give him a solid 10 rebounds per game. I could play a little bit of wing, a little bit down low. I try and keep it versatile.”

Mines says he played some hoops at Hermitage High and used to butt heads with current Cavaliers guard J.R. Reynolds on the AAU circuit. During football offseasons, Mines enjoys playing pick-up games with Reynolds and other basketball team members.

“We kind of have a joking friendship when we get on the court,” said Mines, referring to his relationship with Reynolds. “I try and stay away from [Reynolds]. He’s too much of a scorer and I’m pretty low-key on defense. I’m an offensive guy.”

The basketball player Mines likes to watch the most? Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.

“I like how he matured so quickly,” Mines said, “and is embracing all the challenges in front of him.”

Sound like someone else you know?
 

Koch, Jobe at home with Cavaliers
By Jerry Miller / Daily Progress staff writer
August 22, 2006

Cary Koch and Staton Jobe have this aw-shucks kind of look to them. It’s not so much a doe-eyed expression of surprise, but rather a sense of gratitude, a feeling of arrival, an understanding of family.

“I consider myself fortunate,” said Koch, a transfer from hurricane-ravaged Tulane University. “I was lucky to transfer to a better school and football program. I learned not to take for granted the luxuries awarded to a football player.”

The 6-foot, 198-pound Koch made an immediate impact at Tulane before the devastating effects of a now infamous natural disaster made so many realize what life was truly about.

“Hurricane Katrina really put things in perspective for me,” Koch explained. “It made me realize there was more to life than football.”

After posting 23 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns, Koch, a Baton Rouge native, earned Conference USA All-Freshman recognition last season.

“Cary is just another post-Katrina story,” said Koch’s dad, John, who was beaming like only a father could at last Thursday’s Meet the Team Day.

“Lives have been changed in so many different ways after Katrina. Fortunately for Cary, we found a family at Virginia where he can continue working towards his dreams.”

Like every football player, Koch and Jobe want touchdown glory. They bust their humps to contribute in practice and hopefully crack the depth chart.

“It’s my job to help the first-teamers get better in practice. I know that,” said Jobe, a 6-foot, 177-pound freshman wide receiver.

“I take pride in helping the first team prepare. But I’m also trying to learn the offense so I can contribute in the coming years.”

Both Koch and Jobe, a standout at Westlake High in Austin, Texas, said the speed of the ACC game has taken some getting used to.

“The speed is a huge change from high school to college,” said Jobe, who said he had 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash. “The complexity of the offense also takes some time to learn. That’s why I want to improve every part of my game in every practice. I want to adjust to bigger, strong Division I athletes.”

After spending almost 20 years in Louisiana and Texas, about as rabid as football states can get, neither Koch nor Jobe will be in awe of the punch 60,000-plus fans can generate at Scott Stadium.

“If you live in Baton Rouge, in the shadow of Tiger Football Stadium,” John Jobe explained, “you learn to love and know football.”

You can still see though a tinge of astonishment in both their eyes. Not just for what’s in store for today, but what’s in the mix for tomorrow.

“You tell anyone you’re going to UVa from Texas and it’s like you’re going to an Ivy League school,” Jobe beamed. “It already feels like a family. There wasn’t a culture shock at all. I want to work and keep getting better. That’s my goal. That’s what I’m going to do.”

 

UVa Receivers
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
August 22, 2006

THE WIDEOUTS
Fontel Mines
Senior - 6-4 l 223 pounds
Richmond
The Numbers: Mines finished second on the team last year with 28 receptions. Those catches went for 345 yards, an average of 12.3 per reception. ... Mines has caught a pass in 11 straight games.
The Skinny: Mines will be under the microscope with his friend and fellow wideout Deyon Williams (stress fracture) out of action to start the season. The senior will be asked to provide leadership in practices and games and coach Al Groh expects just that. ... Mines caught just his third career TD against Minnesota in the Music City Bowl.
The Factoid: Mines turned heads with his first career catch. The reception went for a touchdown against UNC.
Kevin Ogletree
Sophomore - 6-2 l 186 pounds
St. Albans, N.Y.
The Numbers: Ogletree’s redshirt season was burned in Week 6 when he made his debut against Florida State. He finished the season with seven catches for 27 yards. ... The native New Yorker caught five passes against Temple.
The Skinny: Ogletree might just have the best hands on the team. The injury to Deyon Williams has pushed the sophomore into the spotlight, but can he stay there? ... Ogletree has what Groh likes to call “big play ability.”
The Factoid: Ogletree’s uncle played football at Fayetteville State.

THE TIGHT ENDS
Tom Santi
Junior - 6-5 l 243 pounds
Nashville
The Numbers: Santi caught 19 passes for 358 yards last year. That gives the junior 32 for his career. ... Santi also caught two touchdown passes last year, the first two of his career.
The Skinny: Santi is willing to do it all. He even volunteered to play fullback two years ago and plays a key role on special teams. ... Christian Olsen loves the fact that Santi catches almost every pass thrown his way.
The Factoid: Santi is an avid baseball fan and watched the College World Series on television.
Jon Stupar
Junior - 6-4 l 257 pounds
State College, Penn.
The Numbers: Stupar led all tight ends on the team with 24 receptions. He has 25 career catches for 332 yards. ... Stupar scored his only career touchdown last year against Florida State.
The Skinny: Like Santi, Stupar is an above average blocker and has a knack for making the tough catch over the middle.
The Factoid: Stupar was coaxed into singing on the air during a segment with Wes McElroy of ESPN 840-AM. Stupar won a national award in high school singing with an acappela group.

The Best of the Rest
Emmanuel Byers
Junior - 5-10 l 197 pounds
High Point, N.C.
The Numbers: Byers caught 21 passes last year for 219 yards, but most fans remember his 90-yard TD pass against Miami on an end-around. ... Byers also returned eight punts for 81 yards.
The Skinny: Byers is battling through pain in his Achilles’ but is expected to play through it. ... The junior has made great improvements catching the ball.
The Factoid: Byers is the second-leading passer on the team for his career. He has completed two passes for 122 yards.
Maurice Covington
Sophomore - 6-4 l 215 pounds
Durham, N.C.
The Numbers: Covington played in five games as a true freshman. He averaged one catch per game and finished with 60 yards receiving.
The Skinny: Covington is a work in progress. Great things are expected as he continues to improve.
The Factoid: Covington’s uncle, Thomas Covington, played at Georgia Tech and in the pros for the 49ers.
Theirrien Davis
Junior - 5-11 l 180 pounds
Bowie, Md.
The Numbers: The player formerly known as “Bud” has caught three career passes, two of which came last year. ... Davis has also returned two kickoffs for 44 yards.
The Skinny: Davis could land some extra looks early in the season with Deyon Williams sidelined. ... He is also expected to be in the mix to return kickoffs.
Simon Manka
Junior - 6-0 l 176 pounds
Orchard Park, N.Y.
The Skinny: Manka played lacrosse at UVa before joining the team prior to last season. ... Might be able to help on special teams.

Andrew Pearman
Sophomore - 5-10 l 175 pounds
Charlotte, N.C.
The Skinny: Pearman sat out last year per NCAA rules for transfers. He was on the team at Hawaii in '04. ... Pearman might be the fastest player on the team but will have to work hard to make into the starting rotation.

John Phillips
Sophomore - 6-6 l 251 pounds
Warm Springs
The Numbers: Phillips, a tight end, caught two passes for 27 yards last year as a rookie.
The Skinny: Phillips might be the best blocker among the tight ends. Tom Santi thinks so. “John Phillips is a great run-blocker, I think,” Santi said. “I can learn from a lot of the stuff that he does. He is a serious guy when it comes to point-of-attack blocking.”
Mike Robertson
Junior - 6-2 l 199 pounds
Blacksburg
The Skinny: Robertson has appeared in three games at Virginia. The only game he played in last year was against Temple.
Chris Dalton
Junior - 6-2 l 172 pounds
Statesville, N.C.
The Skinny: Dalton, a two-star recruit, is a speedy wideout with obvious athletic ability. ... He played cornerback in high school.
Cary Koch
Sophomore - 6-0 l 198 pounds
Baton Rouge, La.
The Skinny: Koch transferred to Virginia from Tulane just prior to the start of training camp. ... Koch played as a true freshman at Tulane.
Joe Torchia
Freshman - 6-5 l 237 pounds
Cold Spring, N.Y.
The Skinny: Torchia was a highly-rated tight end in high school. According to his teammates he is a quick learner. “Just here in the last few days, he has kinda gotten himself noticed,” fellow tight end Tom Santi said last week. “He is playing well and he is actually picking up the plays really quickly. He is doing well for a young guy and he’s a pretty exciting player.” ... Also played defensive end in high school.

 

Pinigis quits football team
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
August 21, 2006

Eddie Pinigis started three games last year at right tackle for Virginia. A fourth seems unlikely.

Pinigis, a junior, left Virginia’s football team over the weekend.

"Eddie Pinigis quit the team," Virginia coach Al Groh said on Monday.

Groh said the play of Will Barker, a redshirt freshman, had left Pinigis as the back-up on the depth chart.

"I think [Pinigis] was looking for more playing time," Groh said.

The move did not come as a total surprise to Groh, who mentioned that "body language often says a lot" with a player.

Pinigis started last season against Boston College, Maryland and Florida State. The 6-foot-7, 298-pounder remains on track to receive his degree in psychology in May.

Members of Pinigis' family confirmed that the tackle would join the football team at Liberty University in Lynchburg. Liberty football coach Danny Rocco was an assistant coach at UVa from 2001 to 2006.

 

Virginia tackle loses job, tranfers
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 22, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Offensive tackle Eddie Pinigis, who recently lost his starting job at the University of Virginia, quit the team Saturday.

"I think he's looking for more playing time," U.Va. coach Al Groh said yesterday morning.

Pinigis, a 6-7, 298-pound junior from the Lynchburg area, didn't look far. The former Jefferson Forest High star enrolled yesterday at Division I-AA Liberty University, whose new coach is former U.Va. assistant Danny Rocco. Pinigis is eligible immediately.

"All I can tell you is my son is not a quitter, he's a starter," Amy Pinigis said yesterday, "and he's looking forward to a new beginning."

Pinigis, 22, was pressed into a leading role last season after an injury to D'Brickashaw Ferguson and the subsequent suspension of Brad Butler and started three games for the Cavaliers, including their upset of Florida State. Pinigis began training camp this month as the starter at right tackle, but redshirt freshman Will Barker recently replaced him.

"He had a feeling when [offensive-line coach] Ron Prince left, 'could be in trouble,' "Pinigis' uncle Calvert Jones, a former Virginia Tech offensive lineman, said yesterday. "He doesn't a great relationship with Coach Groh. They didn't talk, for whatever reason."

Prince left U.Va. after last season to become head coach at Kansas State. Dave Borbely replaced Prince as the Cavaliers' offensive-line coach.

Pinigis "felt like he hadn't done anything to lose his job," Jones said. "They were going to go in another direction."

With Pinigis gone, Virginia is perilously thin and inexperienced at offensive tackle. Zak Stair, a 6-6, 298-pound sophomore, is backing up Barker and left tackle Eugene Monroe. Former walk-on Davon Robb, a 6-8, 294-pound senior from Hopewell High, is No. 4 at offensive tackle.

Rocco said last night that he's thrilled to have Pinigis in the Flames' program. When Pinigis played at Jefferson Forest, that was part of Rocco's recruiting territory.

"We'll give him an opportunity early on to show what he can do and compete for one of those starting tackle jobs," Rocco said. "He's a tough-minded, physical football player who's been well-coached in a good system, who knows how to compete, knows how to practice, knows to win."

One of Pinigis' best friends, former Jefferson Forest teammate Steve Ray Lloyd, plays for the Flames. Lloyd transferred to Liberty from Virginia Tech.

 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Aug 22, 2006

PREP WORK: Hargrave Military Academy's postgraduate football team includes three players who signed with Virginia in February but failed to meet NCAA eligibility requirements -- safety Ras-I Dowling, inside linebacker Almondo Sewell and offensive tackle Billy Cuffee.

Yesterday during Hargrave's media day in Chatham, all three said they plan to sign again with the Cavaliers in 2007. Dowling, a former standout at Chesapeake's Deep Creek High, said his commitment is "very strong," which is great news for U.Va., according to Hargrave coach Robert Prunty.

"He's special," Prunty said of the 6-2, 180-pound Dowling. "I don't go on record unless I know a guy can play. This guy is going to be an all-ACC guy. This guy is rangy, this guy can run, and this guy's got great hips."

Prunty raved two years ago about unheralded lineman Branden Albert, who moved from Hargrave to U.Va. in 2005 and started every game at offensive guard last season.

Dowling "is going to be the sleeper of the bunch right here," Prunty said. "Remember what I said about Branden Albert? This is going to be the next Branden Albert-type guy to U.Va."

Like Dowling, the 6-5, 305-pound Cuffee graduated from Deep Creek. Sewell is from Trenton, N.J.

"To have Almondo here is great," Cuffee said, "because when we go to Virginia we'll have a special bond that everybody else is not going to have, from us being here and playing here together, working hard together.

"With Ras-I, any time you go into a new place and you see a familiar face, it really helps."

HIGH PRAISE: On his teleconference with reporters yesterday, U.Va. coach Al Groh singled one of his centers.

"Probably nobody on the team has had a better training camp than Jordy Lipsey has," Groh said. "He's really hit his stride and is starting to look like a real good college center."

Lipsey, a 6-3, 280-pound junior from Longwood, Fla., worked extensively with the first team in practice Sunday. With Lipsey playing well, his competition at center, classmate Ian-Yates Cunningham, is a strong candidate to start at right guard, ahead of junior Marshal Ausberry.

Cunningham started five games at offensive guard as a true freshman in 2003. Ausberry started 11 games at right guard last season.

ON THE AIR: Former U.Va. quarterback Tim Sherman will be a sideline reporter and pregame analyst for football games on the Virginia Sports Radio Network this season. He replaces Jed Williams, host of the radio show "Best Seat in the House" on WINA (1070) in Charlottesville.

Sherman was a four-year letterman for the Cavaliers (1993-96). U.Va. opens the season Sept. 2 at Pittsburgh. The pregame radio show will start at 6 p.m., an hour before kickoff.

PRECOCIOUS: Of the 16 scholarship freshmen in training camp at U.Va., the most likely to play against Pitt is Nate Collins, Groh said.

A 6-2, 281-pound defensive lineman from Port Chester, N.Y., Collins attended King & Low-Heywood Thomas School in Stamford, Conn. He wasn't heavily recruited, but Collins is exceptionally athletic for his size and played quarterback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, defensive end and linebacker in high school.

In U.Va.'s 3-4 defense, Collins is working at nose tackle and end.

"He just finds a way to get off blocks and get to the ball," Groh said.

-- Jeff White
 

U.Va. report: Offensive lineman Pinigis leaves team, might transfer
By ED MILLER , The Virginian-Pilot
© August 22, 2006

Eddie Pinigis, who started three games at offensive tackle for Virginia last year and was expected to compete for a starting job this season, has left the team, coach Al Groh said Monday.

Groh said playing time was the likely reason for Pinigis leaving. The 6-foot-7, 298-pound junior had lost his first-string spot to Will Barker, a 6-7, 306-pound redshirt freshman. He's expected to transfer to Division I-AA Liberty.

Pinigis backed up Brad Butler at right tackle last season, and started three straight games. Two starts came after left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson injured his knee and Butler moved to left tackle, and one after Butler was suspended for a game for chop-blocking Boston College defensive end Mat hias Kiwanuka.

Pinigis was one of four Virginia players charged in connection with a fraternity break-in and brawl on March 3. He faces a hearing Nov. 9 on a misdemeanor charge of entering a property with intent to damage.

Lipsey has impressed Groh in battle at center

Groh said Monday that junior Jordy Lipsey may have pulled ahead of Ian-Yates Cunningham in the contest to replace Brian Barthelmes at center.

"Nobody on this team has had a better training camp that Jordy Lipsey," Groh said. "He really has hit his stride."

If Lipsey wins the starting job at center, Cunningham could provide depth at guard, where he started five games in 2003 and one last season. Guards Branden Albert and Marshall Ausberry are the only returning starters on the offensive line.

Johnson willing to defend reputation as fastest Cav

For four years, the unofficial title of "Fastest Cavalier" has belonged to tailback Michael Johnson, a former state champion and All-USA sprinter from Heritage High in Newport News.

Might that title now belong to Andrew Pearman, the sophomore receiver who is the younger brother of former Virginia star Alvin Pearman? Pearman, who ran the sixth-fastest 200 meters in North Carolina high school history, has turned heads in camp with his speed.

Johnson, coming off a high ankle sprain suffered last season, scoffed at that suggestion.

"I'm 100 percent," he said. "I can get out and run a 100-meter dash if I needed to and I promise you nobody on this team or nobody probably in the ACC will beat me."

The question is whether the oft-injured Johnson can put his speed to use on the field. At the moment, he's one of three tailbacks vying for carries behind starter Jason Snelling.

Johnson said he'll be disappointed if he doesn't get a lot of carries. He had 50 in 11 games last year, for 267 yards, and also caught nine passes and returned 27 kicks.

"I've been around here a long time," he said. "I don't think they've put nothing in the offense I don't already know."