UVA Football: Dakota Twitty Ready to Emerge as Virginia's Starting Tight End

After receiving the 2024 UVA football Most Improved Offensive Player award and with the departure of Tyler Neville, it's Dakota Twitty's time to shine in the Virginia tight end room.

For Twitty, when he first arrived in Charlottesville, he was listed as a four-star wide receiver from Columbus, North Carolina; now, heading into his senior year, he has bulked up and is prepared to lead the Virginia tight end room in 2025.

"Coming from wide receiver to tight end, it was hard getting my weight, so making sure I'm keeping my weight up, and also putting on muscle mass was one thing I focused on, and 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 got those big boys in there," said Dakota Twitty on the first day of spring camp.

Last season, Twitty recorded ten catches for 78 yards, which included an eight-yard touchdown reception against Clemson. With UVA’s second-leading receiver Tyler Neville gone, Twitty will look to take on a more significant workload this fall.

. @dakota_twitty TO THE HOUSE 🏠

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— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 19, 2024

"The goal that I have is to be the starter. And the same with all the guys in the room and all the guys here in this building," said Twitty. "We put in countless hours, and we trust each other, and we just go out there and work and push each other every single day."

Headed into this fall, Twitty feels much more comfortable as a true tight end, not just as a pass catcher but also as a blocker.

"He sees opportunity, especially with a couple guys not quite being full go this spring,” said Tony Elliott on the opening day of spring practice. “It just gives him more reps. He knows he's going to have to compete for it still when we get into the fall, but his body is transforming.”

Twitty joins a new-look Virginia offense that welcomes wide receivers Jahmal Edrine and Jayden Thomas and quarterbacks Chandler Morris and Daniel Kaelin, with whom Twitty has already established connections.

"They bring a whole different energy, and kind of bring their energy from where they've been and the experience they've had also with the guys that we have here," said Twitty.

As spring camp begins, the emphasis for Twitty and the offense is focused on building chemistry between the additions and the returners.

"This spring is going to be big for us, just working on chemistry. And even outside of the building, outside of practice, hanging out and being around each other definitely helps us," said Twitty.

Like other players on the roster, Twitty has high expectations for the fall and has seen a culture shift this spring.

"This group of guys on this offense is taking initiative, like all together. I mean, from every position group, we all are. We want to take this program somewhere special," said Twitty.

Twitty leads a tight end room with graduate student Sage Ennis, sophomore John Rogers, and senior Karson Gay.

"He'd be the elder statesman from a practice standpoint of guys in that room,” Elliott said. “You see a different level of confidence with him because I think the body is catching up with the position and then also it's starting to slow down because he's had more time to absorb the material.”

With much of the spring season ahead, Twitty will continue to work to establish himself as the primary tight end for the Cavaliers in 2025.