Countdown to Camp: WRs and TEs have a lot to replace this fall

With fall practice just a few weeks away, our annual Countdown to Camp series rolls on today with a look at UVa's receivers and tight ends, a group that is going to have to make up for a lot of lost production if the team is going to have a successful 2023 season.

You can check out our previous features on the RBs, the CBs, the QBs, and the DL.

The WR room has to overcome a lot of adversity this season.

While the entire football program has had to deal with tragedy and adversity over the last year, no group was more impacted than the receivers.

UVa’s wideout lost two of their own in November’s tragedy, which has certainly made an impact on that position group. They also saw their position coach, Marques Hagans, leaving Virginia for Penn State while pretty much all of their production departed to begin their pro careers or transfer out of the program.

This year’s group, now led by Adam Mims after he was promoted from an analyst role, has a lot of healing to do and a lot of production to find.

While the receivers struggled to find success last season, this is largely a new group.

Even before last November’s tragic events, it was a tough year for Virginia’s WRs in 2022. The group had the highest expectations of any unit on the team but struggled with consistency and playmaking in the new offense. UVa’s receivers caught just 75 percent of their catchable passes and, according to ProFootballFocus, accounted for 35 drops in 10 games after having just 34 in 12 games the year prior.

And now, UVa’s new receivers coach will try to turn around the group’s fortunes with a much less experienced and productive receiver room.

That doesn’t mean the position group is going to perform poorly or is devoid of talent, however. Both Malachi Fields and JR Wilson could be in line for breakout seasons if they can stay healthy. The same could be said for Demick Starling, who like Wilson and Fields hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to this point in his career. UVa also went out and added Malik Washington, a very productive receiver coming in from Northwestern, while also adding four freshmen to the roster.

It feels like a safe bet to say that UVa has enough talent at receiver to keep the chains moving and make short to intermediate plays, and what the Wahoos will really need to identify in camp is a group that can take short plays and make them into long gains.

At tight end, UVa has some veterans but is still searching for game-breaking talent.

There was some hope that UVa would find a way to utilize the tight end more in the passing game with a new offense, but in 2022 the Cavaliers still relied heavily on the receivers to catch passes. They have a veteran tight end group now, with everyone returning from last year’s team. It seems like a safe bet that Sackett Wood and Grant Misch will enter camp as the favorites to earn a lion’s share of the playing time, but the Hoos also have a group of young TEs who could be in line for a breakout season.

Clemson’s offense featured the tight end more under Tony Elliott than last year’s UVa offense did, but that might be due to personnel more than a change in overall strategy.

We’ll see if another year in the system means more production for the tight ends, especially with a less-proven and less-experienced group at receiver.

Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks was great for UVa in 2021 but couldn’t recapture that success last season before heading to the NFL Draft. He was a Day 3 pick of the Green Bay Packers after catching 30 passes for 430 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season.

Keytaon Thompson: Thompson ended up being one of the more successful transfer additions of the Bronco Mendenhall era, completing three productive seasons in orange and blue. He led the team in receptions (53) and receiving yards (579) last season, and was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent.

Billy Kemp: The Richmond native was an underrated recruit out of high school but had a very productive UVa career. Kemp played in just seven games last year though as he battled through injuries, and caught 16 passes for 116 yards with no touchdowns. He opted to play his final collegiate season, transferring to Nebraska.

Nathaniel Beal: Beal was a really solid get for the previous coaching staff when he picked the Hoos over Iowa State, but his UVa career never panned out. He dealt with injuries throughout and ended up playing in just three games, never catching a pass. Beal is finishing his career at Rice this fall.

JR Wilson: After a bit of a breakout performance late in the season against UNC, Wilson hopes to carry that momentum into 2023. He finished his true freshman year with eight catches for 86 yards, and made a number of big plays in April’s Spring Game, including a long touchdown catch from presumed QB1 Tony Muskett.

Malachi Fields: Fields played sparingly as a true freshman in 2021 and suffered an injury last summer that cost him most of the 2022 season. He did play in the season finale against Pitt, though, and showed flashes of why everyone is so high on him. Fields caught five passes for 58 yards in that game, including his first career touchdown reception.

Demick Starling: Perhaps the fastest player on the team, Starling has shown flashes but has yet to put it all together. He caught three passes for 75 yards last season, and contributed on special teams as a kick returner. If UVa is going to find someone to hit the home run play this fall, Starling is as good a bet as anyone to be that guy.

Ethan Davies: Davies has chemistry with his new QB, as both he and Muskett played at West Springfield High School. He caught just one pass for seven yards last season, but could play a larger role on this year’s team.

Dakota Twitty: At 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, Twitty is a big, talented receiver, but we haven’t had a chance to see him suit up for UVa yet. He suffered a season-ending knee injury before camp and missed all of 2022. The North Carolina native should be good to go for this season, however.

Sackett Wood: A pleasant surprise last season, Wood emerged as a pass-catching threat at the tight end spot. He caught 12 passes for 165 yards and nearly scored his first-career touchdown in the November game against UNC.

Grant Misch: The former defensive end turned tight end is another player who opted to return for his final year of eligibility, and should see plenty of playing time at tight end. Misch caught 17 passes for 129 yards last year, and has two career touchdown catches, including the game winner against Louisville in 2021.

Josh Rawlings: The Pittsburgh native has yet to make a significant contribution in games at tight end but did make eight appearances in 2022.

Karson Gay: As a true freshman last fall, Gay contributed on special teams, playing in two contests. Gay is a big TE target at 6-foot-7, and saw significant game action in this year’s Spring Game.

Malik Washington: If there were betting odds on UVa’s receptions leader for the 2023 season, Washington would likely be the favorite. The Georgia native comes to UVa after four seasons at Northwestern, where he led the Wildcats in receptions with 65 last year. A former All-B1G selection, he had 120 catches and three touchdowns in his Northwestern career.

Suderian Harrison: A South Carolina native, Harrison was a late addition to UVa’s 2023 recruiting class, choosing the Hoos over Virginia Tech and Louisville. He is a shifty slot receiver who hails from the same high school as the late Lavel Davis.

Jaden Gibson: Virginia’s lone early enrollee among the receiver/tight end group, he set prep records in Georgia before heading north to Charlottesville in January. Gibson caught a touchdown pass from fellow freshman Anthony Colandrea in the Spring Game.

TyLyric Coleman: Another receiver in the 2023 class, he comes to Virginia by way of Danville. Coleman was a two-way star for Dan River High, recording 1,026 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches en route to the state playoffs.

Titus Ivy: Virginia found a big pass-catching target in Ivy, who was a two-sport star at Cox Mill High. Ivy is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, and could develop into a big-bodied pass-catching threat down the road.

TeKai Kirby: Virginia’s lone tight end in the 2023 class was a legacy recruit from a major prep program. Kirby, the son of former UVa great Terry Kirby, earned his offer at camp in Charlottesville last summer. He caught six passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns as a senior at St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida.