Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 1 | August 2017

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24 Inside Hokie Sports
Most Tech fans, media members and
those in the know about college football focus
their attention on the Hokies’ youth at the
quarterback and receiver positions. Yet does
anyone realize the Hokies return just two tight
ends who have played in a college game?
Bucky Hodges’ departure and Xavier
Burke’s move to defensive end leaves Colt Pettit
and Chris Cunningham as the only tight ends
to have played in a collegiate game. Yet head
coach Justin Fuente didn’t receive a question
about the tight end position at the ACC Football
Kickoff, nor at his preseason news conference.
Pettit is the most intriguing story of the
group, having moved from the offensive line
to tight end days before the Hokies played at
Notre Dame last fall. Coaches rarely make in-
season moves like this, but Tech’s staff saw an
opportunity for Pettit to help.
“Honestly, the first thing was, ‘If it helps us
beat Notre Dame, and that’s what’s best for
the team, I’ll do it,’” Pettit said of his reaction.
“They thought it was best for the team, and I
was all about it. I was excited.”
Pettit never played tight end in high school.
He only played it a couple times in all-star
games, and he enjoyed it.
However, he never expected it to be such a
transition. He expected to block a few defensive
ends and catch a few passes, but found the
position a little more nuanced than that.
“Yeah, it was,” he admitted. “I knew a lot of
the stuff from playing on the line. Obviously,
on the line, you have to know what everyone
is doing, so I understood the concepts. But it
was just different fundamentals and different
techniques, and I had to lose weight. It was
a challenge, but it was fun getting to do
something different.”
Pettit HEADLINES a young,
raw group of tight ends
by Jimmy Robertson
At his heaviest, Pettit weighed 315
pounds, and he usually resided in the
300-pound range. Now, he weighs 265, and
he thinks the added quickness will benefit
him in the passing game. Last season, he
mostly blocked.
“If my role is just blocking on the line, then
I’m fine with that,” he said. “I feel confident
that I could do that [be a factor in the passing
game], though.”
Along with Pettit, Cunningham figures to
be a factor at the position. He played in 12
games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, starting
two of them, and he caught six passes for 48
yards—with four of those catches going for
touchdowns. He certainly proved himself as a
capable red-zone threat.
What does the rest of the position look like?
In a word—young.
Of the five remaining tight ends on the
roster, none have played in a college game,
and four are true freshmen. Casey Harman, a
redshirt sophomore, represents the only one
of that contingent to claim more than a year’s
worth of experience in the program.
Dalton Keene, who enrolled in January,
Drake Deluliis and Cole Blaker certainly
add size, with all three standing over 6-3
and weighing more than 230. But none are
bigger than Lecitus Smith, a 276-pounder
from Georgia. Smith certainly possesses the
size to be a factor in the running game, while
also being athletic enough to help in the
passing game.
It would come as no surprise if any or
several of these freshmen hit the field this fall.
Tech’s staff wants to find depth for this season,
while also building for the future.
“I think we’ve got a really strong group,”
Pettit said. “They all want to learn, and they’re
all working really hard. The young guys have
come along really well, and they want to get
out there and they want to compete. That’s the
most you can ask of them.”
There is a lot to love about this group—big,
strong and fast athletes with skills to do a
lot of different things. Really, all possess the
potential to help the Hokies this fall.
Hopefully, they develop quickly as a group.
If they do, then everyone will know them—and
be talking about them in terms other than
inexperience.
Returning starter: none
Starter lost: Bucky Hodges (37 career starts)
Projected new starter: Colt Pettit
Top reserves: Chris Cunningham,
Dalton Keene
Newcomers: Keene, Drake Deluliis,
Cole Blaker, and Lecitus Smith
Breakout candidate: Pettit
Notes: Cunningham caught six passes in
2016, but never caught more than one in any
game … Deluliis caught 71 passes for 1,140
yards and 14 touchdowns in his high school
career … Blaker played quarterback at nearby
Narrows High and threw for more than 5,100
yards and 59 touchdowns in his career.
QUICK FACTS
ON TECH’S TE’S
15 Drake Deluliis (6-5, 235, Fr.)
29 Dalton Keene (6-4, 240, Fr.)
42 Cole Blaker (6-3, 230, Fr.)
80 Colt Pettit (6-3, 265, r-So.)
82 Lecitus Smith (6-3, 276, Fr.)
85 Chris Cunningham (6-2, 241, r-So.)
90 Casey Harman (6-3, 242, r-So.)
AUGUST • 2017 (In numerical order)
VIRGINIA TECH
TIGHT ENDS
20
17
PREVIEWT I G H T E N D S