Tight end was supposed to be a strength of the Virginia Tech offense this year. It was, though not quite as much as we thought it was, and in different ways than we thought it would be.

Before getting into this article, let’s note that Darius Redman won’t be returning next season. He was listed as a r-junior all year, but was flipped to a Sr. on the roster before the bowl game. That means he is foregoing his fifth year, since he has already earned his degree. That’s probably best for Redman and for Tech’s scholarship numbers, because he wasn’t going to see the field as a r-senior.

The Hokies were expected to have three reliable tight ends in 2014. Instead, Kalvin Cline was hurt and will get a medical hardship, Ryan Malleck spent most of the year banged up, and Bucky Hodges was much more of a wide receiver than a tight end. Here are the returning players and their production in 2014:

Bucky Hodges: 45 catches, 526 yards, 11.7 ypc, 7 TD
Ryan Malleck: 24 catches, 195 yards, 8.1 ypc, 2 TD
Kalvin Cline: 1 catch, 3 yards (26 catches for 321 yards, 12.3 ypc, 2 TDs in 2013)

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