At UVa’s first spring practice earlier this month, tight end Dakota Twitty was chosen to break down the team to begin the practice. Twitty looked like a different player altogether, in his new number (#9), and much more like you would expect someone at his position, tight end, to look.

Twitty came to UVa as a promising wide receiver, who chose the Cavaliers over a bunch of other P5 interest. Twitty looked like the next great big receiver at UVa, a program that had put out a few good ones under the previous coaching staff. Unfortunately for Twitty, the early part of his career at UVa was derailed before he even got to Charlottesville. Suffering a season-ending injury before camp, all while the program underwent a coaching change, could have proved a difficult hurdle to overcome, but Twitty, with help from the coaching staff, was able to get healthy and restart his career.

Twitty eventually made the move to tight end, and in 2024, he had a bit of a breakout season. Despite the fact that he was behind two experienced and productive tight ends on the depth chart, Twitty’s athleticism got him on the field, where he was able to demonstrate real potential. Twitty played in 11 games last year, and recorded 10 receptions for 78 yards and his first career touchdown, coming in the loss at Clemson.

While Twitty was able to see the field in his new position, it wasn’t always an easy transition. Twitty is a bigger receiver to begin with, but even for him, playing off the line with different responsibilities was a challenge.

“Going against some of the bigger guys, especially when we got into ACC play, was a bit of a shocker to me,” Twitty said of his blocking responsibilities last season. “Going against the best of the best, 315, 330 (pounds), and those guys are moving, they’re running and flying. The willingness was always there for me, I feel like my body was lagging a bit. I’m still working to keep my muscle mass up, and keep my wait up. I feel like I have guys here that challenge me in general.”

Luckily for Twitty, practice reps against older, talented defensive lineman proved helpful when he had to block opponents in another jersey. Twitty credited now grad assistant and former defensive lineman Kam Butler, among others who got him ready to play.

“Constantly going against them and working against them every single day, it was a challenge but one that I’m up to,” Twitty said of UVa’s defensive ends.

In addition to learning the role, Twitty had to change his body to actually be able to play it. That started in the weight room, where the Columbus, NC native has been able to change his body. Twitty came to UVa listed at 6-foot-5, 223 pounds. This spring, UVa’s roster has him at 245-pounds, more appropriate for a tight end.

“Investing in the program, investing in the strength staff, the coaches,” Twitty said when asked how he’s been able to bulk up since last season. “We just got a new strength coach, Coach (Tre’) Thomas, and Coach Smo (Adam Smotherman), Coach (Will) Harrison, they’ve been doing a great job with us. Working on my explosiveness, making sure my weight is up. Coming to tight end from wide receiver, it was hard keeping my weight up, so that’s one thing I focused on. Also lower body explosiveness, because it’s one thing being explosive on the outside but in the trenches, it’s a little bit different when you’ve got those big boys in there.”

This spring is the next step in Twitty’s development, but also serves as a major opportunity. Tyler Neville and Sackett Wood have graduated, Karson Gay will miss most or all of spring, and Sage Ennis is out for spring ball as he recovers from a knee injury. That leaves Twitty and a few younger guys to battle for reps. Twitty is suddenly the most-experienced tight end in the room, and has a chance to earn a bigger role in the fall if he can show out in the spring.

“Just like any other year, the goal I have is to be the starter, and the same with all the guys in the room, in this building, in this program,” Twitty said of his opportunity. “We work every day, we put in countless hours and we trust each other and we just go out there and work and push each other every day. So regardless if it’s me or somebody else, I know our coaches are going to put the best guy out there.”

While Twitty is now a grizzled vet at Virginia by modern college standards, there has been quite a bit of change around him on the roster. In addition to trying to further his own development, Twitty has to get to know a bunch of new receivers and linemen, as well as two new quarterbacks, Chandler Morris and Danny Kaelin, who will take most of the reps this spring after transferring in from North Texas and Nebraska respectively. Twitty said it takes a while to get on the same page, but everyone is working to make it happen now so they can be ready for fall camp.

“I feel like it’s a challenge every year. We have new receivers, we have young guys, we have transfers, we have older quarterbacks. And it’s not just them coming in but us getting to know them and know their tendencies and what they like and what works for us on both sides,” UVa’s junior tight end said. “It’s a mutual thing, but I’d say it’s going pretty good. This spring is going to be big for us, working on chemistry. Even outside of the building, outside of practice on the field, us hanging out and being around each other, it definitely helps with that.”

This spring, Dakota Twitty suddenly has an opportunity to go from a role player with some upside, to a potential starter in the fall. His combination of athleticism and size could make him quite a weapon for UVa’s two new quarterbacks, and potentially, if everything works out really well, he could put himself in a position for a professional career. Twitty knows that any growth he has will start with hard work on and off the field, but he’s embracing the opportunity after overcoming setbacks earlier in his career.

“Also I say thank you to Coach Elliott and the staff. When I came in, I had torn my ACL and he honored my scholarship. I went through a whole bunch of stuff, a long road,” Twitty explained. “They believed in me and bought into me. I’m so grateful for this opportunity that I have, to be healthy to be out there sweating, bleeding, crying. To be out there with the guys, it means everything to me.”