Future bright at tight end for Cavs

By Chip Knighton

Published: August 17, 2008

“Tight End U” lost two players at its marquee position in the spring when Virginia pass-catchers Tom Santi and Jonathan Stupar took their talents to the NFL. But the future of the position is in good hands.
UVa coach Al Groh brought in three tight ends in his 2008 recruiting class. While New Jersey prospect Bill Schautz has since moved to linebacker, classmates Colter Phillips and Rod Wheeler are next in line to carry on the Cavs’ tradition.
Phillips, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound prospect from Georgetown Prep in Darnestown, Md., was the first of the two to sign on with Groh. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Wheeler was a late addition to the Cavs’ class after a standout career at powerhouse Highland Springs High outside Richmond.
The Springers have traditionally been known for strong defense and have sent several players to Virginia Tech in recent years, including current defensive star Victor Harris. Wheeler — whose father, also named Rod, played basketball for the Hokies — didn’t feel any pressure to follow the pipeline.
“If you look back, you’ll see that most of the people from Highland Springs went defense,” Wheeler said. “I don’t think Tech really comes to us for offense.”
Phillips’ name should also be familiar to UVa fans. His full name — John Colter Phillips — makes him the third in a series of John Phillipses in orange and blue, including the current starter at tight end. The first John Phillips on the roster was a walk-on quarterback that forced the second Phillips to use his middle initial (M, for Matthew) early in his career.
Colter Phillips, like Wheeler, chose UVa partly for the prominence of the program’s tight ends. Both players hope to be the latest success story out of a group that has included NFL players Santi, Stupar, Patrick Estes and Heath Miller, the patron saint of the position and a current Pittsburgh Steeler.
“It was a big part of the reason why I came here,” said Colter Phillips. “They obviously use their tight ends a lot. But I came here to get a great education and be on a great football team at the same time. It definitely did help with picking the right school.”
The choice was easy for Colter, whose older brother, Andrew, is an offensive lineman at Stanford. The Cardinal and Wake Forest joined the Cavaliers in the younger Phillips’ top three, but it didn’t take long for UVa to separate itself from the field.
“When I came down here for my first visit, I just fell in love with the place,” he said. “My dad was the one who kept me from committing on my visit. I had the offer for about a month or so and visited a couple of other schools, but I just felt that this was the best place for me — for my education and from a football standpoint, and from a social standpoint. There are a lot of great people here.”
Wheeler also considered Syracuse, Connecticut and hometown Richmond before pledging to UVa late in the recruiting period. Upon arriving in Charlottesville, he immediately set about soaking up as much knowledge as possible from his elders.
“John Phillips has taught me a lot,” he said. “When the coaches are showing plays, he’ll be over there talking to me, telling me how to run the plays and the formation. Same with Joe Torchia — he’s really a big help teaching me everything, from the motion to the routes and everything. We have a nice little family in the tight ends.”
Neither player is likely to see much playing time in 2008 behind John Phillips, Torchia, Mark Ambrose and Andrew Devlin. But the coaching staff is high on Phillips and Wheeler and sees big things from the duo when their time comes around.
“So far, they’re basically everything we thought they would be,” said tight ends coach Bob Price. “They’re dynamic out in the field and good, solid blockers. As first-year players, they don’t get a lot of action right now, but they’re studying hard and we expect them to have a good future.”