When news hit Friday afternoon that tight end Jake McGee will transfer after graduation in May, ripples surged through the Wahoo nation. Some described it as a kick in the stomach or as another disappointing development on a long list of frustrations.

The reactions are understandable. McGee led the team in receptions in 2013 after tying for the team lead in touchdown catches in 2012. McGee finished his UVa career with 71 catches after he pulled in a team-high 43 last season and 7 touchdowns after he tied Darius Jennings for the team-lead in 2012 with 5. Over two seasons, McGee’s statistics represent 12.8% of the team’s 553 receptions and 21.9% of the team’s 32 receiving touchdowns. No matter how you slice that up, McGee undoubtedly has been as a big piece of the passing offense for the past two seasons.

Of course, the offense as a whole has been abysmal over that two-year stretch. Despite finishing in the top 50 nationally in completions in both years (and for all four years of the Mike London era), the Cavaliers have been not produced much scoring. They had 23 touchdown passes in 2012 (tie for 53rd nationally) and 9 more in 2013 (tie for 115th nationally). They averaged 22.8 points per game in 2012 (95th nationally) and 19.8 points in 2013 (110th nationally). As most fans know, those numbers have followed the mediocre trend lines for the offense over nearly a decade’s worth of seasons.

In other words, McGee’s departure hurts the offense because he’s a proven playmaker, but it really can’t be viewed as a disaster. After all, the offense has been dancing all around disaster territory for years now both before and after McGee. A variety of factors – from the quarterback carousel on down the list – have been part of those struggles.

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