Steven Stilianos is determined to make the most of his second pass through the recruiting process.
His first time through, Stilianos committed to Lafayette prior to his senior season at Christchurch. He stayed true to that commitment and basically shut down his recruitment, even after being named VISAA Division 2 player of the year as a defensive lineman while making second-team all-state at quarterback.
Four years later, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Stilianos is a two-time first-team All-Patriot League tight end in the transfer portal with two seasons of eligibility remaining. Within hours of entering the portal in early December, schools started to reach out. Syracuse and UConn were the first two teams to offer. As of Tuesday, following an offer from Pitt, that list had expanded to a dozen schools.
"I didn’t envision it being like this when I first entered the portal but it’s definitely a blessing,” the tight end admitted to CavsCorner. “It’s definitely an exciting time and I’m enjoying it.”
Virginia offered Stilianos last week and wasted no time attempting to woo the in-state product. By Friday he was in Charlottesville for a visit that spanned the entire weekend; Stilianos got on the road for home just as the snow started to fall Sunday morning. That provided ample time to meet with the new UVa coaching staff to get to know each other and talk football and tour the facilities and university with director of high school relations Blanda Wolfe and new director of scouting Justin Speros.
Stilianos had never met any of the UVa staff members prior to his visit. He spent most of his weekend with offensive coordinator Des Kitchings and wide receivers coach Marques Hagans, but also got some one-on-one time with new head coach Tony Elliott.
“I was able to talk with him quite a bit, and I was really impressed with what I heard and who he is as a man and what he stands for,” Stilianos said.
Stilianos and other transfer prospects also got to sit in as Elliott addressed the high school recruits visiting for Saturday’s Junior Day. During a discussion about his vision for the UVa program, the former Clemson offensive coordinator talked about how he cares about “the whole person, rather than just the football machine.”
“He calls it the ‘Model Program,’” Stilianos recalled. “Being able to get high quality men that care about academics and football, and trying to prepare them to be winners on and off the field through their service, spirituality, hard work, effort. All those sort of things were important to him.”
Stilianos also spent time during the visit with UVa receiver Lavel Davis, who shared his optimism about the program’s direction under Elliott and the new staff—and his excitement about the potential for a UVa offense that returns most of its key playmakers in the passing game plus Brennan Armstrong, the Wahoos’ record-breaking quarterback who announced last week that he will return for the 2022 season.
Armstrong’s decision piqued Stilianos’ interest as well.
“At Lafayette, I had five quarterbacks in four years. That wasn’t ideal,” he said. “Being able to have a good guy orchestrating the offense is huge.”
The UVa coaches pitched Stilianos on how they intend to keep the tight end position involved in the new offense, and how they’re searching for reinforcements at that spot following All-ACC tight end Jelani Woods’ decision to enter the NFL Draft. Under the previous coaching staff, Woods caught 44 passes for 598 yards and eight TDs in his lone UVa season.
“Having some of their really talented receivers, that’s definitely gonna open up some room for the tight end to make plays, because defenses are going to have to respect that,” Stilianos said. “Just being able to stretch the game in the passing game and be physical in the run game. Being able to do all those things and perform at a high level is what they’re looking for.”
Coming out of Christchurch, Stilianos was recruited mostly by Ivy League and other Patriot League schools—“I feel like I had my best camp there, and wasn’t even looked at,” he recalled of the previous UVa staff—with his only other offer coming from Davidson. Despite his success defensively in high school, he told the Lafayette staff that he preferred to play on offense. Given his frame, the Leopards converted him to tight end as soon as he arrived.
Stilianos caught 65 passes for 534 yards and five touchdowns in his four seasons at Lafayette, earning first-team All-Patriot League honors last spring and again last fall. Believing he had proven himself at the FCS level, Stilianos entered the transfer portal in search of an opportunity with a Power 5 program. He’ll graduate from Lafayette this spring.
“Honestly the biggest thing is who’s gonna prepare me for the next level, and where I can fit within a scheme. Someone that’s gonna utilize the tight end position, and somewhere where I can get in and make an impact,” he explained. “Whoever has the best combination for me is where I’m going to end up.”
Stilianos intends to take the rest of the month to visit a few other schools before making a decision. After getting an in-home visit from Scarlet Knights offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson last week, the grad transfer plans to visit Rutgers this weekend. He’s also considering a visit to Syracuse while waiting to see what offers emerge over the next few weeks.
It’s been a “crazy” experience in the portal, Stilianos said.
“Especially getting recruited by some of these Power 5 schools is pretty cool,” he admitted. “I didn’t get too much coming out of high school. It’s definitely a blessing. Every morning I wake up and you don’t really know who’s gonna be hitting you up next. It’s pretty exciting.”
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