Tight End Talent Abounds for Stinespring, Hokies

Having too much depth is a good problem for any football coach to have. Perhaps no member of Virginia Tech's coaching staff is victim of this issue to the extent Bryan Stinespring is.

The Hokies' tight ends coach can't say enough about his talented trio — particularly his senior.

"Ryan Malleck has been fantastic; not good, but fantastic," Stinespring said. "He's become a major leader for us."

Malleck's productive sophomore season gave way to a rotator cuff tear suffered just before the 2013 season. The Point Pleasant, New Jersey, native's return in 2014 was hindered by a nagging ankle injury by much of the season's middle stages but still produced career bests in all three major receiving categories (24 rec. 195 yds. 2 TD).

"(Malleck) does everything that you can ask a tight end to do," Stinespring said. "He can block in tight, block from the line of scrimmage, get out in space, get involved in protection, make plays in the passing game.. Other than selling popcorn, I don't know what else he can do for us. He's played exceptionally well.

"I'm proud of him."

The contributions of the redshirt senior have often been overshadowed by the dominance of Bucky Hodges (45 rec. 526 yds. 6 TD).

Record-setting receiving numbers are just the tip of the iceberg for Hodges, however, suggests Stinespring. In the perpetual quest for greater expansion, the Hokies have new plans to get their star as involved as possible.

"We had to challenge him," Stinespring said. "There's a lot that's encompassing with (Hodges) being in different spots. He needs to watch more film on his own."

The objective for the redshirt sophomore is to be aware of what every position on the field is doing, rather than simply focusing on the one he's playing on any given down.

Stinespring insists that the challenge is within Hodges' reach.

"A play could be run where he's playing outside but he needs to come back and be aware of what the other position tight end would've been doing that same play," Stinespring said. "He has to learn through his actions and visually. He has to take the ownership of it. He needs to see the plays through different positions. He may line up at all three spots but he can't rep them all at the same time.

"He's handled it well. It's exciting for him and keeps him motivated to continue learning and be a viable part. It's not an easy venture."

Stinespring noted that Hodges' versatility is similar to that of former Hokies tight ends Andre Smith and Greg Boone, but it's still "not even close."

"Andre Smith and Greg Boone – we played them at some extended positions," Stinespring said. "We could line up tight or spread them out. To this magnitude though, no."

Despite the wide range of accomplishments and ability, Hodges still has things that need improving.

"He had an outstanding year last year but there were some plays he left on the field," Stinespring said. "We want him to be able to recognize things and play faster. There's times where you have to play exceptionally fast, but you also need to know when you have to have some patience to set up routes.

"You only do it by doing it over and over again. There's a fine line between when you run with speed and athletic ability and use patience."

The prolific 2014 campaigns of Malleck and Hodges came in lieu of oft-forgotten Kalvin Cline.

"He's going to pick back up where he left off as a true freshman, just a little bigger and a little stronger," Stinespring said of the redshirt sophomore.

After setting the bar for productivity by Tech freshman tight ends, one which was raised by Hodges, Cline succumbed to a knee injury in the 2013 Sun Bowl. Before doing so, the Boca Raton, Florida, native accrued 321 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 26 receptions in just his second season of organized football.

The ailment, however, limited Cline in the following spring and slowed him thereafter. After appearing on just 58 plays in 2014, over the course of just two games, Cline was sidelined for good and recently granted a medical redshirt.

"Kalvin has come back. His legs are back underneath him," Stinespring said. "Early on he was very sluggish in the first couple days but it quickly came back to him. It's been awhile since he's really played so to get that going, today was his best day. He's been a little banged up but he's healthy. He's getting his timing back and his wheels back underneath him."