That anybody would waste an iota of energy arguing for a program other than the University of Miami as Tight End U is preposterous. Such effort, wasted. Such claims, erroneous.
They went to more Pro Bowls, amassed more years as the primary starter for their respective NFL teams, and led all alumni groups in NFL counting statistics like receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
And it’s not close.
Look at it however you like. It’s damn hard to find a way that doesn’t point to Miami as Tight End U.
Inventing Tight End U
Miami’s national title season featured two heralded tight ends.
One would be named the team’s MVP. His backup would finish the following season 16th in the nation in receiving yards. Both would be named All-Americans. Both would be drafted and play in the NFL.
That was 1983.
Glenn Dennison was the Jack Harding Team MVP of the 1983 season and earned second-team All-America honors. Willie Smith, Dennison’s backup in 1983, was a second-team All-American in 1984 and a first-team All-American in 1985.
Joining them on that 1983 roster was Alfredo Roberts, a redshirt freshman tight end who’d spend most of his career as a backup but who’s enjoyed a long NFL coaching career. He’s currently the New York Jets tight ends coach.
Rob Chudzinski arrived a bit later. As a tight end, he won two national titles with Miami in 1987 and 1989. He later began a lengthy coaching career, which he began as a graduate assistant with the Hurricanes.
Miami’s tight ends in the 1980s were solid. Their tight ends a decade later were something else entirely.
The pass-catching, touchdown-scoring tight end isn’t quite a modern invention.
Mike Ditka became the position’s first standout in 1961 when, as a rookie, he caught 12 touchdowns, a record for touchdowns by a tight end that went unmet for over 20 years and unbroken for over 40.
Tight ends Billy Cannon, Raymond Chester, Dave Casper, and Todd Christensen, who tied Ditka’s record in 1983, featured prominently in the Raiders’ offenses of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
And then there was Kellen Winslow, Sr., Ozzie Newsome, Shannon Sharpe, Wesley Walls, Ben Coates, and Tony Gonzalez in the 1980s and 1990s.
But for most of the NFL’s history, most teams used most tight ends as undersized blockers who’d catch the occasional pass.
That began to change at the turn of the century. Tight ends accounted for 17.2% of NFL receptions and 19.6% of touchdown receptions between 1960 and 1999. In the 2000s, it jumped to 18.8% of receptions and 22.9% of touchdown receptions. Then to 21.1% of receptions and 25.2% of touchdown receptions in the 2010s.
Take a look around and it’s hard to find another program that contributed more to this revolution than Miami.
Credit Bubba Franks with inventing Tight End U.
His tenure brought national prestige to the tight end position in Coral Gables. A mountain of a man (6’6”, 250 pounds), his spectacular catches earned column inches in newspapers and air time on television.
He was lucky to play under Chudzinski, a former tight end himself who recognized intimately the position’s potential.
“You can look at the tight end position two ways,” Chudzinski said in 1997. “The tight end is the worst receiver and worst offensive lineman because he has to do both or, the tight end is one of the most versatile athletes on the field. It’s hard to find guys who are big and strong and physical enough to block, and agile enough to run routes and catch.”1
Chudzinski developed the program’s reputation for utilizing and producing elite tight ends, first as tight ends coach between 1996 and 2000 and later as tight ends coach and offensive coordinator between 2001 and 2003. That began with Franks.
Franks blossomed into an All-American and first-round draft pick under Chudzinski’s tutelage, and his departure following the 1999 season left a hole.
“How do you replace Bubba?” a rhetorical Butch Davis asked. “It’s been a discussion in our staff meetings a lot. He was the best tight end in America in college football last year.”2
But Franks’ success under Chudzinski made Miami shine brighter for high school and junior college tight ends looking for a program where they too might shine.
“We’ve tried to make the tight end position lethal,” Chudzinski would say a couple of years later after being promoted to offensive coordinator. “You really have to look to try to do it. It’s not something where you say you want to throw to the tight end. You have to find ways of doing it and making it work.”3
As Jeremy Shockey shopped around for transfer options following his stellar freshman season at Northeastern Oklahoma (NEO) A&M, he said he hoped to join a program “where they utilize the tight end in their offense.”4 The Hurricanes had proven that with Franks.
Kellen Winslow II chose Miami for its wide receivers coach, Curtis Johnson.5 Not only did Winslow II’s father, Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr., suggest he consider programs with people of color in positions of authority6 (Johnson was one of two black Miami assistants), but Johnson had a proven knack for developing elite pass-catchers (Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne were top NFL prospects at the time).
Greg Olsen followed his brother to Notre Dame. But he’d had a better visit to Miami7 and the Hurricanes were the better fit. As Olsen was making his decision, South Bend writers worried Miami’s recent success developing tight ends like Franks, Shockey, and Winslow would lure Olsen south.8 When his brother transferred before the season, Greg did too. This time, he didn’t follow his brother. He chose Miami.
Jimmy Graham was a fan-favorite of the Miami basketball team. As Graham spoke with basketball coach Frank Haith about playing overseas following his senior season, the football coaches inquired if he’d be interested in trying out for the football team.9 He was.
Chudzinski coached Olsen and Winslow II into All-Americans and first-round selections. Olsen was All-ACC and a first-round pick as well. Graham, still a raw football prospect, went in the third round of the draft but enjoyed the best NFL career of any of Miami’s tight ends. He’s currently fourth all-time in touchdowns by a tight end (89).
Whereas Miami’s tight ends of the 1980s hadn’t blossomed into prominent professional players, its tight ends at the turn of the century certainly did.
Tight End U of the 2000s
When David Ching began covering LSU for ESPN in 2014, he noticed that the Tigers defensive backs claimed the moniker, “Defensive Back U.”10
That summer, he decided he’d find out if the moniker was deserved. He devised a rubric that awarded points for major individual awards, All-Americans, NFL draft position, and coaches’ all-conference selections. The program with the most points wins.11
LSU wasn’t Defensive Back U. Ohio State was. The Buckeyes scored 238 points on Ching’s rubric. Oklahoma scored 220. LSU scored 218.12
The Hurricanes were fourth with 202 points. And when Ching ran the analysis for other positions, Miami featured in the top 10 of several of them: Defensive Back U (4th), Linebacker U (T-4th), Offensive Line U (7th), Kicker U (8th).
Most of his Position U rankings were relatively close at the top. Ohio State beat Oklahoma for DBU by just 8.2%. Oklahoma beat USC for QBU by 5.6%.
But the Hurricanes ran away with Tight End U.13 Four points separated the second- and fifth-place program in Ching’s TEU analysis. A difference of 6.5%. Eighteen points separated Miami from the second-place program. A difference of 27.3%. Only Ohio State’s crown as Linebacker U was by a greater margin (27.6%).14
That’s the thing about the Hurricanes in the 2000s. Talented? Clearly. More talented than other programs? Yes again.
But it’s more than that. It’s the metaphorical distance at which Miami tight ends collectively ran ahead of other cohorts. Not merely victory but margin of victory.
How best to crown Tight End U of the 2000s? Do as Ching and look primarily at collegiate performance?
I enjoyed Ching’s series when he published it in 2014. He’d developed a quantifiable means of settling what’s always been a qualitative debate (my team is better than yours!). But I disagree with his method, that Position U is best measured collegiately.
I get it. If you’re calling a program the Position University, instinct suggests looking at players’ performance while at that university. But what’s the purpose of university if not to prepare pupils for professional success? And if that’s the case, what better way to crown Position U than by weighing players’ professional success?
Tight End U goes to the program that best prepares its pupils for professional success. So let’s look at this three ways.
First, compare the professional careers of tight ends drafted between 2000 and 2009. Because one might logically bestow Tight End U of the 2000s upon the program that sent the best tight ends to the league during the decade.
Second, compare tight end production during the 2000s only, regardless of draft year. Because Tight End U of the 2000s might suggest tight end performance during the decade.
And third, compare tight end performance during the period comprising The Streak. Because that same overperformance we explored in Chapter 2 (not merely victory but margin of victory) rears its head as we compare tight end play during the span comprising The Streak.
By tight ends drafted in the 2000s
Of the 153 tight ends selected in the NFL draft between 2000 and 2009, six were Miami Hurricanes: Franks (1st round, 2000), Mondriel Fulcher (7th, 2000), Shockey (1st, 2002), Winslow (1st, 2004), Kevin Everett (3rd, 2005), and Olsen (1st, 2007).
Fifteen tight ends were first-rounders, and Miami alums comprised over a quarter of them (four). No other program produced more than one.
Virginia, Notre Dame, and Iowa matched Miami with six tight ends drafted in all, but that’s where the comparison ends. The Miami tight ends spent 32 years as primary starters on their respective NFL teams. Iowa’s tight ends managed half that and Notre Dame’s and Virginia’s less than half. And the Miami tight ends went to 11 Pro Bowls. Only the Tennessee alumni group matched them, and that was all Jason Witten.
Tennessee is the second most productive alumni group in each of the three counting statistics. Miami’s miles ahead. Over 600 more receptions, over 7,500 more receiving yards, and 65 more receiving touchdowns.
The difference between Tennessee and the fifth most productive alumni group? Seven-hundred-twenty-seven (727) receptions, 7,551 yards, 27 touchdowns.
Not just victory but margin of victory.
By tight ends who played in the 2000s
Limiting ourselves to only tight ends drafted during the 2000s omits players like Tony Gonzalez, drafted in 1997 but whose career spanned the entirety of the 2000s and who was the decade’s best player at the position.
Seven Hurricanes tight end alumni posted receiving statistics in the 2000s: Franks, Fulcher, Shockey, Winslow, Everett, Olsen, and Buck Ortega. Nine USC tight ends recorded statistics, and eight Washington, Virginia, and Penn State tight ends.
The Miami tight ends went to eight Pro Bowls, second behind only California, but that was all Gonzalez.
The Hurricanes again boat-raced the field in counting statistics. Georgia placed second to Miami in receptions by over 300. California placed second to Miami in receiving yards and touchdowns by over 2,500 yards and 26 touchdowns.
The gap between second and fifth? One-hundred-ninety-five (195) receptions, 2,439 receiving yards, and 14 receiving touchdowns.
Not just victory but margin of victory.
By tight ends during The Streak
One-hundred and seventy-four tight ends scored at least one touchdown in the span comprising Miami’s streak. Five of them were Miami Hurricanes – 2.9%. They were Franks, Shockey, Winslow, Olsen, and Graham.
Tight ends caught 1,446 touchdowns during this span. One-hundred-seven (107) were caught by Miami Hurricanes – 7.4%.
Matching the Hurricanes with five tight ends with at least a touchdown were the Florida Gators, Oregon Ducks, and UCLA Bruins. But only one Bruin (Marcedes Lewis, 17), one Duck (Justin Peelle, 12), and one Gator (Aaron Hernandez, 11) caught double-digit touchdowns.
Forty-eight (48) tight ends caught double-digit touchdowns during this span, including all five of the Miami tight ends – 10.4%. No other alumni group had more than two tight ends produce double-digit NFL touchdowns.
It’s the same story in the counting statistics. Georgia followed Miami in receptions and receiving yards by 410 receptions and 4,870 receiving yards. Kent State followed Miami in receiving touchdowns by 36.
The gap between the second and fifth alumni groups? Two-hundred-sixty-three (263) receptions, 2,023 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns.
Not just victory but margin of victory.
There’s another interesting pattern that repeats itself from Chapter 2.
In that chapter, we dissected the alumni groups’ touchdown totals during the span comprising Miami’s streak and saw prolific quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees inflate their respective alumni groups’ totals.
That same pattern is present here. When we compared tight ends drafted during the 2000s, the Tennessee alumni group was second to Miami in each of the counting stats categories. That was mostly Jason Witten.
When we compared tight ends who played during the 2000s regardless of draft year, California featured prominently. That was mostly Tony Gonzalez.
And when we compared tight end performance during The Streak, the Kent State alumni group entered the mix. That was mostly Antonio Gates.
Miami, meanwhile, saw significant contribution from several tight ends. Franks, Shockey, Winslow, Olsen, and, in the analysis of tight ends during The Streak, Jimmy Graham.
Whereas other programs produced tight ends of quality or quantity, Miami produced a remarkable quantity of quality tight ends.
Still Tight End U
Franks retired after the 2008 season. Shockey after the 2011 season. Winslow after the 2013 season. Olsen after the 2020 season. And Graham after the 2023 season.
As the 2000s turned into the 2010s, the Hurricanes produced fewer elite tight ends.
Clive Walford left Miami after the 2014 season its all-time leader in touchdown receptions by a tight end with 14, breaking Franks’ record of 12. He played five seasons in the NFL.
In 2017, David Njoku became the first Hurricanes tight end in a decade to be selected in the first round. He went to the Pro Bowl in 2023 after catching 81 passes for 882 yards and six touchdowns.
Brevin Jordan and Will Mallory were fifth-round selections in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Elijah Arroyo was a second-round selection in 2025. Njoku, Jordan, Mallory, and Arroyo were all active in the 2025 season, though Jordan spent it on injured reserve.
Miami’s post-2000s have been solid but not the elite bunch drafted at the turn of the century. Two-hundred-thirty (230) tight ends have been drafted since 2010. Nine of them were Miami Hurricanes, trailing only Notre Dame with 10. Those nine Miami tight ends are top five in Pro Bowls (6), years as primary starter (18), and receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.
That’s mostly Graham, who was drafted in 2010. Remove him, and Miami’s tight end alumni have been fairly pedestrian: one Pro Bowl, eight seasons as primary starter, 10th in receptions and receiving yards, and ninth in receiving touchdowns. And that’s mostly Njoku.
But here’s where things get interesting. Widen the analysis to the entire millennium thus far (2000 to 2025), and Miami shoots back into the top alumni groups.
Even as the talent ebbed and the program burrowed into its 20-year hibernation of ACC mediocrity, such was the Hurricanes’ turn-of-the-century talent that the Miami tight ends are still the NFL’s most productive bunch of the millennium.
The 15 Hurricanes tight ends drafted in the millennium rank second behind Notre Dame’s 16. The Miami group went to the most Pro Bowls (17 vs. 11 second place alumni group), spent the most years as primary starter (50 vs. 40 second place), and caught the most passes (3,370 vs. 2657 second place), racked up the most receiving yards (37,667 vs. 30,383 second place), and hauled in the most touchdowns (298 vs. 211 second place).
ESPN revived its Position U series in 2019 and ran it until 2023, this time looking back to the beginning of the BCS era in 1998 through modern times.
In 2019, ESPN wrote: “Miami has so many big names and impact players at the position, it’s hard to deny the program the top spot.”15
In 2020: “No position (aside from kicker) is more clear-cut than tight end, where Miami is hands down the best producer of talent in college football.”16
In 2021: ESPN named the Hurricanes’ Tight End Mount Rushmore: Shockey, Olsen, Franks, and Graham.17
In 2022: “Miami’s position as Tight End U isn’t in doubt for the foreseeable future.”18
In 2023: “It’s absurd that people attempt to make the case for anyone else as tight end U. Miami isn’t just a clear-cut No. 1. The Hurricanes are tops by a country mile (or an Everglades mile, if you will).”19
Miami is still Tight End U. And it’s still not close.
One of every six touchdowns scoring during Miami’s 149-week NFL touchdown streak went to a tight end. Remove those 107 touchdowns and it takes a considerable bite from the total of 668.
But The Streak holds up remarkably well without the tight ends.
First, it’s no longer 149 weeks. Franks saved The Streak in just its seventh week (chronicled in Chapter 3), and later Shockey was the sole Hurricane to score in Week 1 of the 2005 season.
Without the tight ends, The Streak would begin Week 2 2005 and end Week 10 2011. A 111-week streak. Still longer than any other program in that era. Purdue alumni are closest with 73 consecutive weeks with an NFL touchdown.
And if you remove the 107 NFL touchdowns scored by Miami tight ends during The Streak, you’re left with 561. That’s still more touchdowns than the alumni group in second, Tennessee with 558 NFL touchdowns.
It’s a stunning testament to the depth of Miami’s talent that we can remove its third-most productive position group and Hurricanes alums still outperform every other alumni group.
Maybe Miami’s not just Tight End U.
There’s more to this story. Next up: Chapter 5: September 19, 2005
Degnan, Susan Miller. “Tight Ends: 3 to Get Ready.” The Miami Herald, August 19, 1997.
Degnan, Susan Miller. “Time to Believe.” The Miami Herald, August 25, 2000.
Associated Press. “Miami Looks to Tight Ends.” Tampa Bay Times (Associated Press), November 8, 2002. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/11/08/miami-looks-to-tight-ends/.
Kirk, Otis. “Richardson to Play in California-Texas Shrine Game.” Times Record, June 21, 2000.
Degnan, Susan Miller. “Coker Adds Kellen Winslow Jr. to First Class.” The Miami Herald, February 15, 2001.
Drehs, Wayne. “A Racial Divide Between Father and Recruit.” ESPN, March 21, 2001.
Lemming, Tom. “Quinn, Recruits Will Help ND Survive Olsen Exodus.” The South Bend Tribune, August 31, 2003.
McClure, Vaughn. “Recruiting in Stretch Run.” The South Bend Tribune, January 8, 2003.
Degnan, Susan Miller. “From Hardwood to Hard Hits.” The Miami Herald, August 13, 2009.
Ching, David. “A Selection of News, Event and Feature Stories: ESPN.com ‘Position U series.’” DavidJChing.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20190423075839/http://www.davidjching.com/stories#:~:text=ESPN.com%20%22Position,for%20the%202000s.
Ching, David. “Position U: Quarterbacks.” ESPN.com, June 17, 2014. https://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/95525/position-u-quarterbacks.
Ching, David. “Position U: Defensive Back.” ESPN.com, June 18, 2014. https://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/95596/position-u-defensive-back.
Ching, David. “Position U: Tight Ends.” ESPN.com, June 17, 2014. https://www.espn.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/95528/position-u-tight-ends.
Ching, David. “Position U: Linebackers.” ESPN.com, June 18, 2014. https://www.espn.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/85556/position-u-linebackers.
ESPN.com. “Position U: Which Schools Produce the Most Talent at Each Position.” ESPN.com, June 23, 2019. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27207990/position-u-which-schools-produce-most-talent-position.
Hale, David. “Position U 2.0: Which Schools Produce the Most College Football Talent at Each Position.” ESPN.com, August 25, 2020. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29601197/position-u-20-which-schools-produce-most-college-football-talent-position.
Hale, David. “Position U: Which Schools Produce the Most College Football Talent at Each Position?” ESPN.com, August 2, 2021. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/31891050/position-u-which-schools-produce-most-college-football-talent-position.
Hale, David. “College Football’s Position U 2022: Which Schools Produce the Most Talent at Each Position?” ESPN.com, August 8, 2022. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34206607/college-football-position-u-2022-which-schools-produce-most-talent-position
Hale, David. “Position U: Why 2023 could be a defining year for the rankings.” ESPN.com, August 2, 2023. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38041525/college-football-position-u-2023-usc-gaining-momentum-oklahoma-quarterback.