One Year into Playing Tight End, Bucky Hodges Settling into His New Position

More than any member of Virginia Tech's coaching staff or one of his fellow players, it was a former North Carolina Tar Heel that convinced former quarterback Bucky Hodges he could have a future at tight end.

Nearly a year ago to the day, the Hokies found themselves matched up against UNC and struggling to find a way to prepare for imposing future Detroit Lion Eric Ebron.

Naturally, they turned to Hodges, one of the few players on the team that could mimic Ebron's potent combination of size and speed.

"One of our old GAs, Coach Hop (James Hopper, a former safety for the Hokies), came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play tight end. They said UNC had a real athletic tight end that reminded them of me," Hodges said. "I hadn't even thought about it before, to play tight end."

Then they made Hodges a simple deal: give the position a try for one week on the scout team, then go back under center if it feels wrong.

But as Hodges started to watch Ebron on film, the wheels started turning in his head that the Tar Heel could be a player for him to emulate.

"He was real fast at tight end, created a lot of mismatches," Hodges said. "I liked the way he was talking too, his swag. He said he was the fastest tight end in the nation, stuff like that, so I like his game a lot."

Hodges isn't afraid to talk his own game up on the field, so he could identify with Ebron's confidence.

"I definitely got a little swag to me, it's nothing cocky, but you've got to have that to be a good player," Hodges said. "You've got to have a little swag to you."

By the time the week was up, there was nowhere he'd rather be than tight end.

"I did it for a week and I was having so much fun out there, I wanted to stay there," Hodges said.

But that doesn't mean that his transition to the new position was without its trials and tribulations. He started practicing with the tight ends for the first time in earnest in spring practice, and the process was baffling for him at times.

"During the spring, when I was first hearing the plays, it was sounding real crazy to me," Hodges said. "The playcalling is real long, so there's just a couple little things you've got to listen to for your position. I'm moving around so much that at first it was hard."
Yet considering he only got a small taste of the position last fall, it's hardly surprising the move was a little bumpy at first.

"In reality, he made the transition in the spring," said tight ends coach Bryan Stinespring. "He worked a little tight end off of a card on the scout team, but that's not the same."

After a few months, he started to really get the hang of offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler's terminology.

"After the summer when we did 7-on-7's, I got real comfortable with it," Hodges said. "I'm more comfortable with the play calling, I don't think twice about it now. I just go out there and play."

Stinespring credits his newfound confidence with his willingness to throw himself into learning the nuances of the position.

"He could've gone in with a little trepidation in his mind, like 'am I all in?' and I thought he was all in from the very beginning," Stinespring said. "He approached this like he was going to be a valuable part of this team, he worked his way towards that in the offseason, in the weight room."

Some players might've been put off from committing to the transition by holding out hope that playing quarterback could still be a possibility down the line, but Hodges never thought that way.

"I never looked at myself as a quarterback, I just looked at myself as a football player," Hodges said. "I knew with this offense that with the change, I was going to be able to help out the team a lot. It was a good move for my future."

But Hodges will still get the chance to line up as a QB every now and then in the team's wild turkey (wildcat) package, a role he says he still relishes.

"I definitely like the wildcat package with me. it can change the game," Hodges said. "It's just another way to get the ball in my hands, and any way I get the ball in my hands, I like it."

Yet he claims it's not all about giving him a chance to throw the ball downfield. He's more than willing to hand it off when the defense doesn't look promising, as he proved against both Ohio State and Western Michigan.

"I've handed it off a bunch of times in that package," Hodges said. "It just depends on what the play is."

In a show of how versatile Hodges really is, on back-to-back plays against the Broncos he handed off to J.C. Coleman from the wildcat and caught a 29-yard touchdown.

His defender fell down on the play, and he blew downfield so fast quarterback Michael Brewer had to put some major air underneath his throw just so he wouldn't miss Hodges.

"That's how he had to throw because I was so open, so he just put it up there for me and it was an easy catch," Hodges said.

But Hodges isn't the only versatile tight end with the potential to make big plays for the offense.

Ryan Malleck is getting back into the swing of things as well, after working through injuries to his knee and ankle, but he didn't get much of a chance on the field last week.

"I played six snaps, and on the sixth snap I went down on a block and kind of tweaked (my ankle) out as I was trying to get out on my route," Malleck said.

Stinespring didn't want to take any chances, so he yanked Malleck from the game to prevent any further injury.

"We got into the game very careful, wanted to get him out there early, see how he held up," Stinespring said. "I liked the way Bucky was playing, Kalvin (Cline) was into the flow of it, so we elected just to sit him down again and give an opportunity to get completely well, didn't want to take any chances."

Now that he's had a little extra rest, Stinespring expects him to be on the field for full duties against UNC this week.

"He did more today than he has in weeks past," Stinespring said. "He made a couple nice plays out there today, much better than he has in previous weeks on a Tuesday."

Even when Malleck hasn't been on the field, Stinespring gives him a lot of credit for the way he's mentored Hodges.

"I think Ryan has been terrific for Bucky," Stinespring said. "I think he's that voice of reason, that experience, and I see them talking in my meeting room, on the field it's a continuous conversation, so because of both of them working the same spot, knowing what we want out of that room, they're invaluable to each other really."

Malleck has also tried to be a resource for Cline. The sophomore might have a year of experience starting under his belt, but between his recent injury woes and the fact that he's still working back from an injury of his own, the veteran is trying to keep an eye on him.
"He's doing great, especially coming in off an injury," Malleck said. "He's getting back into things. I think it's going to take him a few weeks, but he's coming along."

The trio of Hodges, Malleck and Cline now looks to be completely healthy and ready to realize the promise of three tight end sets Hokie fans have been drooling over.

But there's a fourth name joining the list of Tech tight ends that could be causing mismatches for opposing defenses in the near future: David Wang. The team's starting guard/sometimes center lined up in place of Malleck when the Hokies got on the goal line against Western Michigan.

"It was a play that took a little finesse, a little bit of experience in what you're asking him to to do, had to read that edge guy, had to set the edge in the blocking scheme, based upon how the defense would defend and act accordingly," Stinespring said. "And David understood the play really well, so we elected to go with him in that situation."

It might seem like an unusual fit for Wang, but he says he feels comfortable coming in on short yardage situations if the team calls his number.

"I see it as another spot on the line. It shows they have confidence in the way I block and I appreciate the vote of confidence from the coaches," Wang said. "And if at any point they want to throw me a pass, I'm always ready."

Wang jokes he's got "the best hands on the team" and has clearly been thinking about what he'd actually do if he managed to score one day.

"If I get a touchdown catch, I will get a personal foul because I will punt that ball out of the end zone," Wang said. "I will kick that ball as hard as I can out of the end zone. That's a guarantee. I'll take the 6 am (conditioning), I'll take the fine, I'm punting that ball if I score."

A celebration penalty after a touchdown would likely be the only thing Wang ever has in common with the lightning-fast Hodges, but his position coach doesn't see it in the cards.

"Of course, don't you always see your center out there in the flat?" offensive line coach Stacy Searels said in a rare display of humor when he was asked about Wang's future as a pass catcher at TE.

The fact that Wang's made his intentions perfectly clear when it comes to his potential celebration routine means that the comparisons between Wang and Hodges will likely end here.

"That's why we're not going to do it," Searels said with a smirk.