Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 5 | May 2018

20 Inside Hokie Sports Not long after he arrived in Blacksburg, James Shibest analyzed his tight end position, and he quickly realized that he was going to need to find some personnel for the Hokies to accomplish what they wanted to do on offense. That, in turn, resulted in a couple of tailbacks playing in an H-back type of role. Fortunately, the position is in much better shape these days. The Hokies lost Colt Pettit off last season’s squad, but Pettit served mostly as a blocker in goal-line and short-yardage situations and played sparingly. The roster coming out of spring practice featured an upperclassman [Chris Cunningham], an underclassman who played this past fall [Dalton Keene], and two underclassmen who took a redshirt year [Drake Deluliis and Cole Blaker]. In short, the position features a combination of experience and youth. “We almost got the tight end room about where we want it,” Shibest said. “We had to use Sam [Rogers] and Steven [Peoples], really tailbacks, in that kind of role when we first got here. “But Chris Cunningham, I can’t say enough. He continues to get better and better. Dalton Keene as a true freshman did an awesome job, and he’ll continue to improve. Now you got Drake [Deluliis] coming up that’s finally got some reps in spring and getting better every day. You’ve got James Mitchell [an incoming recruit from Big Stone Gap, Virginia] coming in, too. You don’t know if physically he’ll be ready … but that room is starting to look better and better.” Cunningham and Keene combined to catch 19 passes a year ago, with Cunningham recording the group’s lone touchdown reception. Keene led the way with 10 catches, while Cunningham caught nine. Shibest expects them to be used a little more extensively this fall. They certainly saw more passes thrown their way during spring practices. In fact, in one scrimmage, Cunningham hauled in a pass and sprinted approximately 50 yards for a touchdown. The Hokies’ youth at receiver also may necessitate the tight ends becoming more involved in the passing game. “I’m certainly pulling for it,” Shibest said. “I think this spring they have gotten the ball more than they have ever had. A guy like Drake [Deluliis], who has really great height and can kind of use his big, tall body, has good ball skills. You start leaning that way. We usually try to sneak them out in play action and stuff like that and usually can create some big plays. You’d like to spread it out as much as we can and get it to the guys that can go make plays out there.” Deluliis may be one to watch. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder hoped to be a part of the Hokies’ offense as a true freshman this past fall, but a hamstring injury prevented him from playing, with the exception being the Boston College game. He received a medical hardship waiver after the season. Shibest wants to see Deluliis get stronger, so that he can use him in a multitude of ways. “This summer is going to be big for him,” Shibest said. “He’s put on about 10 pounds, and he’s getting stronger. I think we can put himoutside, but he’s going to be more valuable if we can do a little bit of everything with him.” The Hokies are in good shape at the position coming out of spring practice. Hopefully what transpired this spring carries over to the fall—both in terms of contin­ ued improvement and enhanced production. Several tight ends ready to be PRODUCTIVE this fall by Jimmy Robertson 29 Dalton Keene (6-4, 242, So.) 42 Cole Blaker (6-3, 242, r-Fr.) 85 Chris Cunningham (6-2, 241, r-Jr.) 89 Drake Deluliis (6-5, 240, r-Fr.) 91 Vince Zduoba (6-3, 242, Jr.) Tight Ends