Offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen is the new tight ends coach at Virginia Tech, and he is working with two very experienced players in Nick Gallo (6-4, 251, Jr.) and Drake DeIuliis (6-5, 247, r-Sr.) this spring. The Hokies are expected to feature the tight ends quite a bit in the offense, which will include both catching the football and blocking.

Perhaps a bigger question is, “How will the tight ends align?” Will we see them in the backfield at times as H-back types? Could they potentially split out wide? I’m not sure exactly how Tyler Bowen will handle things, but I can look at last years snaps for both players and tell you where they have experience playing.

Here’s how the returning tight ends lined up last season…

Player	Inline	Slot	Backfield	Wide
Nick Gallo	437	96	61	2
Drake DeIuliis	425	37	8	3

I’m not surprised that Nick Gallo lined up a lot in the slot, or even in the backfield as an H-back. I am a little bit surprised, however, that Drake DeIuliis was mostly just a regular tight end and not used in as many roles as Gallo. I would have thought that DeIuliis could have lined up at times as an outside receiver, considering his height and the fact that he played outside receiver in high school.

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