Tom O’Brien takes over as UVa’s tight ends coach.

As a message board poster suggested this week, football season seems a little closer now that July has arrived on the calendar. Virginia kicks off the 2013 season next month after all! With the countdown clock dropping fast, TheSabre.com’s Summer Reading Series kicks into high gear the rest of July.

Next up: the tight ends. Unlike the receivers discussed in the first article of this series last week, the tight end position did lose key contributors. Paul Freedman and Colter Phillips both wrapped up their senior seasons in 2012 with Freedman getting 10 starts and Phillips 2. They did not factor heavily into the passing game – Freedman had 6 catches for 48 yards and 1 touchdown, while Phillips tallied 8 receptions for 47 yards – but the duo did do a lot of the unglamorous work known as blocking.

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