Ryan Griffin heads list of top tight ends in Big East

There are several good, but not great tight ends among this year's crop in the Big East. Uconn's Ryan Griffin, Pitt's Hubie Graham and Rutgers' D.C. Jefferson all hope to improve their stock for the NFL Draft.

By Matt Rybaltowski

Jul 27, 2012 at 6:16 pm ET • 2 min read

While it’s unlikely that the Big East will have any tight ends this season that could blossom into the next Jeremy Shockey or Kellen Winslow Jr., there are several among this year’s crop that could match the productivity of former All Big East performers Dorin Dickerson and Cameron Graham.

With strong senior seasons over the last several years, both Dickerson and Graham earned their way onto NFL rosters.

Top 5 tight ends in the Big East

1. Ryan Griffin, Redshirt Senior, Connecticut

It’s understandable why Athlon Sports ranked Griffin at No. 22 on their list of the Top 50 players in the Big East for the 2012 season. Griffin is an imposing figure at 6-6, 248 pounds and is one of the top blocking tight ends in the league. He finished fourth on the Huskies’ team in catches (33) and receiving yards in 2011 (477). Griffin will look to avoid dropped passes in his final season at Uconn. In 2011, Griffin’s catch rate of 53.2 percent, according to footballstudyhall.com, ranked fifth among Uconn receivers with 30 targets or more.

2. Hubie Graham, Redshirt Senior, Pittsburgh

With a pair of downfield threats in WRs Devin Street and Mike Shanahan, expect Panthers QB Tino Sunseri to connect often with Graham on underneath routes. Graham has decent size at 6-4, 235 pounds and is gaining comfort with Sunseri after transferring to Pitt from Illinois in 2010. In coach Paul Chryst’s 23-year coaching career, he’s served as the TE coach with both the San Diego Chargers and University of Wisconsin. Chryst has helped further the development of future NFL tight ends such as Owen Daniels, Travis Beckum and Garrett Graham. Chryst may be able to do the same with Graham.

3. D.C. Jefferson, Redshirt Senior, Rutgers

As a former quarterback, Jefferson knows the importance of crisp route-running and improvising when necessary. Jefferson (6-6, 258) is one of the biggest tight ends in the conference and may be one of the most athletic. The redshirt senior must step up after the departure of wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. In 2011, Sanu was targeted 176 times and made 115 catches. Jefferson, meanwhile, had just 12 catches on 22 targets, footballstudyhall.com found.

4. David Stevens, Redshirt Senior, Syracuse

The Orange like to utilize the tight end frequently in their offense as former TE Nick Provo’s stellar 2011 performance (51 catches, 537 yards) indicates. Stevens could be primed for a breakout season. The 6-3, 231-pound tight end led Syracuse in receiving during spring practice and says the game is finally slowing down for him. Stevens had 19 catches for 167 yards last season.

5. Nate Nord, Redshirt Senior, Louisville

Nord (6-5, 245) is considered one of CBSSports.com’s Top 40 tight end prospects mostly because of his blocking ability. Nord only had four catches in 2011. The redshirt senior will likely split reps with Chris White, another intriguing TE prospect on the next level. The development of QB Teddy Bridgewater will help both Nord and White.

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