Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 11 No. 5 | May 2019

26 Inside Hokie Sports 118 S. Main Street TechBookstore.com Shop NikE gear and get game day ready! ® ORDER ONLINE FREE pick up in store! Hokie Nation heard all about James Mitchell this spring from those inside of the football program, and perhaps some wondered if the talent matched the hype. But approximately 25 plays into the Spring Game, those skeptics received their answer. Despite playing with a broken finger, Mitchell hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Willis—just another part of a spring practice in which the sophomore flashed his potential. The talent, the work ethic, the intelligence and his quiet, workmanlike disposition drew rave reviews from the coaching staff, as he looked to carve a role for himself this fall. “He’s incredibly smart,” Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said of Mitchell. “He’s a great worker. He comes from a great family. He’s very talented. He knows what he needs to work on to continue to become a better player. He’s not a finished product by any means, but he can do so many things. He’s very valuable. “There are some guys that have the talent to do a bunch of different things, but they can’t handle it all. But James can handle all of it. I’m really anxious to get through this spring, get that finger healed up, have a great summer and enter fall camp and see how many different places we can put him.” Mitchell worked a lot with the first-team offense this spring, and the reps were critical to him getting in sync with Willis, whommany expect to be the starting quarterback in the fall after his solid 2018 campaign. Those reps also enabled him to get a better grasp of his position, which requires him to play from a multitude of spots on the field. He got those reps partially because an injury to Dalton Keene kept Keene on the sideline. Tech’s staff expects Keene to be fully healthy during summer workouts, and rest assured, Keene figures prominently in the Hokies’ plans. The junior has started 25 of his 26 career games and brings nearly an unmatched versatility to the offense. Fuente and tight ends coach James Shibest appear to have the tight end position in excellent shape. The Hokies feature experience in Keene, two intriguing players with immense potential in Mitchell and Drake Deluliis, and a future tight end in Nick Gallo. They all bring varying skillsets as well. Keene brings experience, versatility and toughness, while Mitchell possesses the ability to run past defensive backs and linebackers. At 6-foot-5, 242 pounds, Deluliis brings size and appears to be turning the corner after spending most of his high school career as a receiver. All stand at least 6-3 and weigh at least 240 pounds. More importantly to Fuente, though, they all can be used in a variety of ways. All three possess the skills to line up as receivers or in the slot, and in the Spring Game, Tech’s staff handed the ball off to Mitchell on a jet sweep. Fuente even hinted at playing multiple tight ends in some of the same sets. “Ultimately the thing about that room is, when you have more than one good one, you can put them on the field at the same time,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve talked about, and we’ve yet to have all our guys there together to kind of put that together. We won’t have that until the fall. “But those guys are competing against wide receivers and running backs for playing time. And I’m pretty excited about those three guys and their development, and then bringing the young (Nick) Gallo kid in as well to help.” Hokie Nation knew about Dalton Keene and heard all about James Mitchell this spring. It wouldn’t come as any surprise if Tech fans heard much more from this group in just a few short months. 29 Dalton Keene (6-4, 246, Jr.) 42 Cole Blaker (6-3, 245, r-So.) 46 Malik Bell (6-0, 249, r-Fr.) 82 James Mitchell (6-3, 239, So.) 89 Drake Deluliis (6-5, 242, r-So.) Tight Ends JAMES MITCHELL