Miami is the top producer of tight ends of any program in the country, according to a breakdown published by ESPN.

The World Wide Leader examined numerous factors such as All-Americans, All-conference selections, NFL draft picks and NFL success. ESPN only considered players dating back to the 1998 season, per its report.

Here’s analysis from David M. Hale on why Miami is still ‘Tight End U’:

Sure, other schools have made a recent run at this honor — from Iowa to Stanford to UCLA. But even if Miami hasn’t produced anyone of the caliber of George Kittle in recent years, the run of talent at this position remains impressive. The Canes have had 13 tight ends drafted since 2000, including first-rounders Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Greg Olsen and David Njoku. Will Mallory could be the next breakout star this season, or perhaps blue-chip 2022 signee Jaleel Skinner bursts onto the scene. Regardless, Miami’s position as Tight End U isn’t in doubt for the foreseeable future.

Iowa, Stanford, Florida and Missouri also made the top-5 in ESPN’s ‘tight end U’ rankings.

As Hale wrote, Miami has an impressive history with tight ends over the past 2 decades. And Will Mallory could be next — he has at least 290 receiving yards in each of the last 3 seasons and could see a big increase to his target volume this season.

The Canes also signed 4-star tight end Jaleel Skinner in the 2022 recruiting cycle. He, along with sophomore Elijah Arroyo, represents what the future of this position could be for Miami.

David Njoku was Miami’s last tight end to be picked in the first round, going No. 29 overall in 2017.