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.