Santi awaits draft fate

Allen Billyk, fresh off a redshirt season, remembers the moment clear as day.
Mired in what many would have considered a meaningless special teams drill, a never-say-die mentality helped a rookie tight end steal the show.
Play after play. Minute by minute. Tom Santi would not be denied.
“He was busting his butt in camp, and the coaches said, ‘Wow, we have to look at this guy more at tight end and special teams because he is out there busting his tail to get on the field,’” said Billyk, a former nose tackle. “That helped Tom get on the field and he never stopped with that relentless attitude. He just kept it up his whole career.”
After grabbing 97 receptions, racking up 1,184 receiving yards and scoring six touchdowns during a glorified career inside and out of the classroom, Santi awaits the next step — his NFL home.
While most of the local buzz has been thrust on defensive end Chris Long and offensive lineman Branden Albert, two sure-fire early selections, Santi will also learn his fate this weekend, either Saturday or likely Sunday, during the seven-round NFL draft.
And Billyk and other teammates have raved about what an organization will be landing in Santi.
“It is nice for somebody to say that, but I don’t know man, I just think that’s the way the game is supposed to be played,” Santi said from Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday. “I think everybody should play as hard as they can every time they get a chance to be out there.
“That won’t change with me. That’s the kind of player that I am and that’s the mentality that I have. Every opportunity I have, I have to make the most of it, and especially now. There are a lot of people who would like to have this opportunity and I’m just
fortunate enough to have it and I have to make the most of it.”
Where his first paycheck comes from remains to be seen. Santi has been projected as high as the third round and even potentially undrafted in some odd circles.
“I don’t have any clue,” Santi said. “They don’t tell you a whole lot. You talk to teams and they tell you that they like you, but that is all you hear.
“Basically, the way I look at it, I have done everything I can do up to this point and it’s going to be what it is whether I worry about it or not so I am just going to sit back and wait to hear.”
Luckily, teams from the NFL combine and a pro day workout and countless hours of film to help scout the
6-foot-5, 250-pounder.
One play, at least in Billyk’s eyes, should stand out.
On a special teams play against Connecticut last year, Santi came flying in to deliver a massive jaw-dropping hit.
“It was right on the sidelines, and that was crazy because he had some shoulder problems leading into that and he was still out there trying to knock someone’s head off,” Billyk recounted. “It was on a punt and he just caught him at the sidelines and totally smacked that guy.
“It was nice to see that because everyone knew that he had been sitting out some practices with some issues and it was like, ‘Look at this guy laying it on the line for us out there.’”
Santi credits the drive and determination that two of his predecessors played with early in his career.
“I had a great opportunity, even early in my career, as I got to learn from some of the best guys that have played the position at Virginia, maybe ever, in Heath Miller and Pat Estes, as well,” Santi said. “I learned a lot from those guys and I am sure that has been a big part in my development as a player.
“And I had Jon Stupar there and John Phillips and that just made it a lot of fun. We got to compete with one another and push each other all the time.”