http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2017/s...ia-tech-hokies-te-bucky-hodges-declares-draft
I expect Ford to follow suit here shortly.
I expect Ford to follow suit here shortly.
As expected, Gods Gift declares...
- Thread starter hokiemtc
- Start date
Oh well, although I don't think he's NFL ready yet (he did not catch every ball he touched) , I thank him for his contribution to our program and wish him the best.
His catching skills are average at best. So, I am not sure he will be drafted very highly although I hope he is.
Bucky Hodges is talented. He will get drafted in round 4-5ish, but he does not yet have NFL Tight End Hands. Catching the ball is something he must work on in order to be an NFL starter. We have two tight ends coming in. We will be BETTER next year at the TE position than we are this year. We have 2 TE's coming in. One from Charlotte and one from Georgia. I know about the 2-3 we have on the roster behind Bucky now, and those guys are hard workers and talented, but the kid from Charlotte (Providence High) will start next year as a true freshman and be BETTER in his freshman year than Bucky was any of his years regarding yards receiving. Drake Deluliis is 6'6, 204 and has better hands right now than Bucky, and he is also a better route runner right now than Bucky. The 204 will go to 220-225 by August which fits the mold of Coach Fu's tight ends. At Memphis, he recruited TE's that were lighter, but did not drop passes. The kid from Charlotte is going to be very special. The other kid we have coming in at a TE recruit is Lecitus Smith. He is 6'4, 254 and will be a future All American for Virginia Tech on the offensive line. He has a huge frame and from a blocking standpoint, he's far better than any blocking TE VT has had in decades. His hands are not as good as the kid from Charlotte, but he absolutely pancackes his opponent. His frame is huge and he will hold much more weight. He will gain weight and likely (in my opinion) be moved to the OL and be an absolute beast. No offense with this post to the kids who are currently on the roster at TE for VT. But......the two coming in are simply better than what Coach Beamer and the Greatest Recruiter in the World-Bryan Stinespring could bring in, lol.
We are fine at TE, even next year. We are fine at WR, even next year if Ford leaves. I don't think Evans will leave, but if he does, we are fine there also. The Hooker kid from Greensboro will break every passing record at VT by the time he is done, and of course playing under Coach Fu's offense. I watched the kid from Greensboro play in the state title game this year. He put on a show, running and throwing. He's going to be special. He has that lazer like-Vick type arm.
Folks, be thankful for our solid athletes/players like Ford, Bucky, and Evans. They are good kids and I hope they are NFL stars (and they may be just that), but the old days of "worrying" about who we were going to get on offense due to a kid leaving early or injury are OVER. Those days are OVER with Coach Fu. We have many more Fords and Evans and Hodges coming in the pipe, and they will truly be developed offensively with a real offensive staff. By the way, in my opinion, Ford is future NFL starter and much like an Eddy Royal. He will be a very good player, but not an all pro player. Bucky will never start a down in the NFL at TE in my opinion. Evans will also never start a down in the NFL at QB. Only my opinions. The Hooker kid from Greensboro (he will start many downs at VT and in the NFL). The same applies to the TE out of Charlotte and the TE/Future offensive lineman coming in from GA. He will play in the NFL. I think many of you underestimate the advantage of playing 3-5 years in a Coach Fu system compared to the Beamer-Stinespring system. It's like little league compared to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In addition to being able to getting better talent offensively out of High School because we run a modern day offense, we also will coach that already higher talent even further up in their stay's in Blacksburg which will be even more productive on the field.
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Bucky was never a TE this season. And Hooker wont play until Jackson leaves, if Evans stays he may not start ahead of Jackson. Jackson also has the Vick cannon and Tmobiles feet and being a coach's son has vast knowledge of the game for his age. Why do you think Lawson ran like a scalded dog out of Blacksburg . Not knocking Hooker at all, great player, and its great to have depth at qb, and the Ellis kid in 18 class is a real athlete at qb or wherever he plays . Great problem to have 3 good qbs.
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It does not matter if Bucky plate QB, RB, WR, or TE at VT this season. He is not playing any NFL position other than TE. He does not have the speed to play WR in the NFL. Again, we will have a true freshman next year that will be better than Bucky in my opinion.
As for Evans and the QB situation, it again does not matter whether it's Jackson or Hooker. Both are more talented and will be better than Evans. My money is still on Hooker, or at least having a two QB situation like Ohio State the past few years (not this year of course.). I think Hooker is to good to set down, but again, if it's Jackson, we are fine. We don't need a QB to fal out of the sky. We have Coach Fu. As long as he is in BBurg, any QB in his system will look "all world" to VT fans because we are not used to it due to poor offensive scheme and coaching. Evans is very very solid, but Tyrod, Randall, MV1 and Marcus were more talented and I think Glennon was also. The problem is, Glennon played in Stineys hay-day era in which we were the worst offensive team in America by our system, statistically, and by production. Glennon is a guy that could have made an NFL roster if he would have chosen another school to play for.
Glennon had a shot at the NFL and didn't make it. Bucky won't play te in the NFL he will play the hb just like he did at VT. And he has only played HB,TE,or WR what ever you want to call it for 2 years. He is still growing into the position. As for Bucky's speed his matches the 2015 combines for TEs
Player School Height Weight 40 time
Rory Anderson South Carolina 6'5 244
Blake Bell Oklahoma 6'62 252 4.8
E.J. Bibbs Iowa State 6'2 258
Nick Boyle Delaware 6'44 268
Gerald Christian Louisville 6'3 244 4.87
Cameron Clear Texas A&M 6'53 277 4.98
A.J. Derby Arkansas 6'4 255
Jeff Heuerman Ohio State 6'5 254
Jesse James Penn State 6'7 261 4.83
Ben Koyack Notre Dame 6'5 255
Tyler Kroft Rutgers 6'6 246
Nick O'Leary Florida State 6'32 252 4.93
Mycole Pruitt Southern Illinois 6'22 251 4.58
Wes Saxton Southern Alabama 6'33 248 4.65
Jean Sifrin UMass 6'52 245 4.84
Randall Telfer Southern Cal 6'55 250
Eric Tomlinson UTEP 6'6 263
Clive Walford Miami (FL) 6'4 251 4.79
Maxx Williams Minnesota 6'37 249 4.78
[]
Player School Height Weight 40 time
Rory Anderson South Carolina 6'5 244
Blake Bell Oklahoma 6'62 252 4.8
E.J. Bibbs Iowa State 6'2 258
Nick Boyle Delaware 6'44 268
Gerald Christian Louisville 6'3 244 4.87
Cameron Clear Texas A&M 6'53 277 4.98
A.J. Derby Arkansas 6'4 255
Jeff Heuerman Ohio State 6'5 254
Jesse James Penn State 6'7 261 4.83
Ben Koyack Notre Dame 6'5 255
Tyler Kroft Rutgers 6'6 246
Nick O'Leary Florida State 6'32 252 4.93
Mycole Pruitt Southern Illinois 6'22 251 4.58
Wes Saxton Southern Alabama 6'33 248 4.65
Jean Sifrin UMass 6'52 245 4.84
Randall Telfer Southern Cal 6'55 250
Eric Tomlinson UTEP 6'6 263
Clive Walford Miami (FL) 6'4 251 4.79
Maxx Williams Minnesota 6'37 249 4.78
[]
Glennon NEVER had a shot at the NFL. You missed my point. You see, Glennons shot at the NFL was removed in his freshman season at VT, then again during his sophomore season, and twice more for his junior and senior year. I think you get my point. Glennon was the product of a shi$ like system for 4 years that gave him a shi$ like chance when it was time for his NFL "try out." His development at VT was laughable which reflected the former O coaching.
Nobody has ever questioned Buckys speed for a TE, they question his hands. The only position he plays at in the NFL is TE unless he gets lucky enough to be on 2-3 teams. His hands are nowhere close enough to play hb in the NFL or essentionally, nowhere near good enough to be spread out in an offense. It's a knock to have shaky hands at TE, but it's a HUGE knock to have shaky hands at any other position in which you are split out away from the line of scrimmage in the NFL. Call that hb or whatever one wishes as different teams call it different names. Either way, he is not getting close to that position. Bucky will never start a down in the NFL. Why? See the same above with Glennon. Bucky was unfortunate enough to come in and enter the worst offensive system in college football. Thankfully, Coach Fu and company had one year with him which gives him a chance.
Bucky has several issues preventing him from being an NFL starter. As mentioned earlier, his ability to consistently catch the ball is a big one. The second is his ability to high point the ball and use his length of which he is marginal at best. Last if all, his route running ability as it relates to the coverage and the throwing lane for the QB is marginal.
Only my opinions.
Nobody has ever questioned Buckys speed for a TE, they question his hands. The only position he plays at in the NFL is TE unless he gets lucky enough to be on 2-3 teams. His hands are nowhere close enough to play hb in the NFL or essentionally, nowhere near good enough to be spread out in an offense. It's a knock to have shaky hands at TE, but it's a HUGE knock to have shaky hands at any other position in which you are split out away from the line of scrimmage in the NFL. Call that hb or whatever one wishes as different teams call it different names. Either way, he is not getting close to that position. Bucky will never start a down in the NFL. Why? See the same above with Glennon. Bucky was unfortunate enough to come in and enter the worst offensive system in college football. Thankfully, Coach Fu and company had one year with him which gives him a chance.
Bucky has several issues preventing him from being an NFL starter. As mentioned earlier, his ability to consistently catch the ball is a big one. The second is his ability to high point the ball and use his length of which he is marginal at best. Last if all, his route running ability as it relates to the coverage and the throwing lane for the QB is marginal.
Only my opinions.
Bucky also has an annoying habit of sliding down (or diving) for no reason on passes that hit him in the chest. I noticed it the last two years at times, and he did it again in the ACC Championship game. He caught a perfectly thrown ball on a simple slant and then dove to the turf for no reason. There was no one around him on that play and he could've ran for miles.
Saw where a ND reporter says QB not interested in VT...... but who really knows.
