Stupar Decides

State College (Pa.) State College Area tight end Jonathan Stupar announced his decision today in a chat on ESPN.com. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder will play his college ball at.....

"Virginia," said Stupar during his chat. "The major reasons is the coaching staff, most of whom has NFL experience. Coach Andy Heck, coach Groh coached with my uncle, coach Musgrave played for a while. It's a great academic program, there are mountains, the ocean is close."

Stupar had visited Florida State, Arizona State and Iowa in addition to Virginia but felt that the Cavaliers were just the best choice for him.

"If for some reason I couldn't play football, I think it is where I would fit in the most. It's also close enough for my parents to come watch, he said. "The things that helped me were the staff, the city, the players. You won't find a better staff in the country."

The decision wasn't an easy one though.

"I'd like to stress how hard this was for Jonathan because he built some great relationships with coaches over the last few months," said his father, Steve. "It just came down to his relationship with coach Rocco, coach Heck and coach Groh as well as UVA's willingness to use double tight end sets.

"They showed that look this year on the field and the things they'll be doing with Jonathan in the offense will be fun," he said. "They also showed that they're a team moving forward and they'll be even better next year and the year after. They have a great young tight end in Heath Miller that Jonathan is really looking forward to learning from and the academics at UVA are great. It was the whole package, but the other schools all made it tough."

The four-star tight end is also very good friends with future UVA quarterback Kevin McCabe and has become friendly with other recruits like Jordey Lipsey and potential Hoo Ian-Yates Cunningham.