Miller rose to fame in the state's schoolboy ranks by passing for more than 1,500 yards and rushing for another 643 as a senior quarterback, leading the Tigers of Honaker to an 11-2 record in Group A competition, Virginia's smallest public school classification. As a result, he was the first athlete from Honaker, a school with 394 students, to be awarded a Division I-A scholarship.

While he was confident in his athletic ability, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of challenges he would have at the University of Virginia. Already 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds when he arrived in Charlottesville, Miller figured he would grow out of the quarterback position. He weighs in now at 256.

It didn't take Coach Al Groh and his coaching staff long to figure that out last season when Miller filled in as a tight end on the scout team during practices. After a few weeks, the change became permanent.

Redshirted as a true freshman last season, the move worked out for the good. With Miller and sophomore Patrick Estes, tight end has become a position of strength for the Cavaliers rather than a weak link as critics had suggested in the preseason.

In fact, after two years of not having a touchdown scored by a tight end, Miller (two) and Estes (one) have already dramatically upped that production in UVa's first two games of the season. That is an odd fact considering both former tight ends, Chris Luzar and Billy Baber, are now on NFL rosters.

Like Luzar last year, Miller is the Cavaliers' second-leading receiver thus far with five catches (10.6 per reception). Up until a couple of weeks ago against Colorado State, Miller had never caught a pass in a game.

UVa quarterback Matt Schaub believes that Miller's background has helped make him a better tight end.

"His athletic skills show in the way he runs certain routes and his hands kind of tell you that he used to play quarterback," said Schaub.

What has surprised Schaub a little is that Miller has adapted so easily to the physical demands of the job.

"It's not only that he runs the routes and catches the ball but it's the blocking as well," said Schaub. "He doesn an incredible job [blocking]."

But Miller isn't some mamsy-pamsy. He also played free safety at Honaker, so hitting wasn't foreign to him.

When coaches asked him to convert from the glorious job of quarterback, he didn't resist. He read daily in the papers about how closely the quarterback is scrutinized.

"It wasn't hard leaving that behind," he said.

Still the transition wasn't all that easy.

"It was a little tough at first because I had to learn the physical part of the job, the blocking part, but it was still football," said Miller. "I still have some things to work on to become a good tight end."

He welcomed a redshirt year after the position switch because he knew he wasn't ready to play tight end right out of high school. He used the year to add strength, to better learn the position and to work on his game on the scout team.

Because UVa uses a lot of two tight end sets, both Miller and Estes are getting plenty of playing time and are quickly becoming threats. Their presence could help take some heat off of the wide receivers and open up the offense.

"They both know how to get open around the middle of the field," said Schaub. "They both have good hands and they're both big targets, so they're hard to miss."

Estes is 6-7, a couple inches taller than Miller. Other than that, they're almost clones.

"Both have been very reliable as far as catching the ball and it's the same way in practice," said Groh, who though complimentary, wasn't ready to enshrine them in his personal hall of fame. "They've both only played two games, so I'd rather let their longtime accomplishments determine whether or not they're deserving a lot of extolling at this point."

But if the duo continue to produce at this pace, Groh's praises won't be far behind. While many of the plays are the same as a year ago, Estes said that quarterbacks are just looking to the tight end more as part of their options.

That's fine with both. As Estes said, they're good buddies and thus far there has been plenty of playing time to go around.

The only thing that worries Estes and probably Miller is that when the ball is thrown to them, they want to make sure they catch it, because as Estes said, "If we don't, that might be the end of us as an option."

Schaub doesn't think so.

"In the back of my mind, just knowing that they've made plays as they have, you know what kinds of plays they can make," said the quarterback.

Considering the youthfulness of this passing connection, it could become quite a threat to defenses for years to come.

That's what one of Florida State's defensive linemen told Virginia tackle Brad Butler when he lined up for the first time late in last Saturday's game. As insults go, it was pretty tame stuff.

"I expected worse," said the 6-foot-8, 271-pound freshman. "I thought they were going to talk about eating my mom or something."

Butler and the rest of UVa's backup offensive linemen certainly have heard worse: Too skinny. Too young. Too small. Too inexperienced. Just not good enough.

Depth on the line was a major concern for the Cavaliers going into the season, but the performance of the second-stringers was a bright spot in the 40-19 loss to the Seminoles.

All five backups - freshmen tackles Butler and Brian Barthelmes, junior guards Ben Carber and Micah Kimball, and sophomore center Zac Yarbrough – were on the field during Virginia's final touchdown drive.

UVa coach Al Groh downplayed the significance of the limited action - "It's 11 plays … a good start for those guys" - but the players said they gained confidence from the experience.

"We stepped up and showed we could do it," said Butler, a product of E.C. Glass High in Lynchburg. "Florida State had a lot of starters still in the game, but we moved the ball on them. It was awesome."

Groh would settle for adequate performances from his backups. Ideally, he said, he would like to have eight to 10 offensive linemen rotating in and out of games. After the spring, he said, he felt comfortable with just four of them.

During preseason camp, Groh inserted a true freshman, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, into the starting lineup at left tackle. Then he used only six linemen in the opening game, with Carber spelling starter Elton Brown at right guard. The other four starters played every offensive snap.

Now, it appears, Virginia's depth will be tested.

The team's top lineman, junior center Kevin Bailey, injured his left knee in the fourth quarter against Florida State. He will not play Saturday against No. 22 South Carolina and could be out for some time, Groh said.

Starting left guard Mark Farrington, who is also the backup center, injured his right ankle against FSU and walked off the field on crutches. He could be available Saturday but is unlikely to start, Groh said.

That means, ready or not, Yarbrough and Carber are poised to step into starting roles for the first time. Here's an unsettling thought for Cavalier fans: Neither played an offensive snap last season.

As a redshirt freshman, Yarbrough earned a spot as the team's snapper on field goals and extra points last season. He was flawless on those 47 snaps, and he figured to remain in that specialist role this year. But when both Farrington and Bailey went down last Saturday, he suddenly became the last center standing. He played each of the final two possessions, both of which ended in touchdowns.

"He did a very pleasantly positive job," Groh said. "He had several good blocks."

"It was my first time playing center and it went pretty well," said the 6-4, 275-pound Yarbrough, who came to UVa as a tight end. "It gives me more confidence and more motivation going into this week. I feel like I'm definitely more prepared this week."

Carber, a 6-2, 294-pound junior, says he came into this season prepared to contribute after a frustrating sophomore year. A former SuperPrep All-American at Central Bucks West High in Doylestown, Pa., Carber played in five games as a redshirt freshman. But under a new coaching staff and offensive system, he dropped out of the rotation last year and did not see any game action.

"That was a letdown, but it motivated me to work harder – get stronger, faster – and really study the playbook," Carber said. "Maybe I'm a slow learner, but it was hard for me to learn the blocking schemes. Everything was different. By the spring, I felt I knew the system a lot better. I felt I could help the team."

Carber came in against Colorado State when Brown bruised a thigh in the second quarter. He received high fives from his teammates after taking out two defenders on Alvin Pearman's 19-yard touchdown run. He also earned praise from Groh, who said, "I thought he stepped in and did a very nice job."

Carber played right and left guard against Florida State and is likely to start in Farrington's spot on the left side this week. Butler, Barthelmes and Kimball also must be ready in case something happens to the starters.

"A lot of us finally got a chance to show what we could do against Florida State," Yarbrough said. "It was a good experience and I think we're all ready for more."

Note. A number of Cavaliers underwent X-rays and MRI exams this week after suffering injuries against Florida State. Without naming names, Groh said Thursday, "I don't think we're going to see most of those guys for some time."

Among those with injured knees were Bailey, linebacker Raymond Mann and defensive back Marcus Hamilton. All were using crutches to get around on Monday.

Groh said sophomore Bryan White is likely to start in Mann's place against South Carolina.

Sophomore defensive end Chris Canty, who missed the first two games after breaking a leg in the spring, has returned to practice and may see limited action Saturday, Groh said.