Chris Durkin Ready to "Start Knocking Heads" as Hokies Enter Second Week of Spring Practice

Chris Durkin was a highly-coveted signal-caller coming out of Ohio's Ursuline HS, the rare quarterback recruit who seemed to prefer doling out hits to throwing touchdowns. But upon his arrival in Blacksburg, Durkin found a quarterback room chock-full with bodies, leaving the one-time Michigan State commit near the bottom of the Hokies' depth chart.

Spotting greener pastures elsewhere on the offensive side of the ball, Durkin transitioned to tight end midway through the 2015 season, hoping to follow in the footsteps of quarterback-turned-tight-end Bucky Hodges.

It's early, yet, but it seems Durkin is taking to his new home nicely.

"Honestly, I love it," said Durkin. "Transition took a little while, but now that I'm in the full mix of things, I'm really starting to like it. I really like hitting."

It's a significant switch for a former quarterback — getting acclimated to 260 pound defensive ends breathing down your throat is no quick process. In an attempt to ease the transition, the Hokies' coaching staff has asked Durkin to tack on some weight this spring, a request the bravado tight end was more than happy to accommodate.

"A lot more lifting," laughed Durkin. "Last year, being on that quarterback (mentality) where you're just maintaining, trying to stay lean...Now you're eating, throwing around a lot of weight. It's fun. I like it a lot more."

While Durkin already feels reasonably comfortable with his route running and pass catching skills, he is heavily focused on the blocking side of his new position as spring practice progresses.

"Making contact, it's been natural. Been doing it kinda all my life," said Durkin. "But blocking is where I think I need to improve. Just pay attention to the coaching I'm getting, just really practice on that in my free time."

Durkin will no doubt lean on the experience of Hodges this fall, a former four-star quarterback recruit in his own right who turned down NFL money for another year in Blacksburg.

"Buck's a great player," said Durkin. "Bucky's helped me with a lot of my route running, blocking and stuff like that. And then just ways to approach the game and everything from a tight end perspective. He's been a real help the past year."

But no matter how the switch goes — there will no doubt be bumps along the way — Durkin seems genuinely excited to finally get out of the quarterback's protected yellow jersey.

"It's finally nice to get in a white jersey and to start knocking heads," said Durkin.

Ekanem Stepping Into Leadership Role

With the departure of Luther Maddy, Corey Marshall and Dadi Nicolas, defensive end Ken Ekanem represents the lone returning starter on the Hokies' defensive line. It's an odd feeling for the defense's elder statesmen, one that hasn't yet completely sunk in.

"I feel very old now," laughed Ekanem. "It's kinda funny how time flies. I still feel like the new guy around here, but I'm the oldest guy...It's kinda funny seeing how the tables have turned."

But behind Ekanem and fellow defensive end Vinny Mihota, youth abounds for the Hokies on the edge, a trio of young players champing at the bit to crack into the rotation.

"I think they're very explosive, all of them. They bring a lot to the table," said Ekanem. "They're all really great pass rushers and work their hands really well. They're a little bit more developed than I'm usually accustomed to seeing in the pass rush aspect of it, but they need to develop a little bit more in the run game to be efficient."

And as the new old hat in the room, Ekanem hopes to take more of a leadership role this spring as the green defensive ends get acclimated to life in the trenches.

"I'll be a little bit more vocal, but the main thing I've been doing, I've been teaching a lot more than I've done in the past," said Ekanem. "Teaching them technique and how to play certain plays and what to expect out of certain formations, just relaying that information to the younger guys."

Hodges Back For Another Year

Hokies fans rejoiced this January when Hodges announced he would be returning for his redshirt junior season, and for good reason. After all, Hodges, who has racked up 13 touchdowns through two seasons in Blacksburg, represents one of the country's most dangerous and versatile offensive weapons.

But it was far from an easy decision for the Hokies' tight end, the prospect of an NFL contract no doubt enticing.

"It was a tough decision. Real tough," said Hodges. "Some days I'd wake up, I'd be going, saying I'm about to leave. And then next day I'd wake up, say I'm staying in school. I just sat down with my family and weighed out the pros and cons and saw that it was best for me to come back to school. I like Coach Fuente. I feel like he's gonna benefit me a lot for my future."

Hodges returns to find Fuente's prolific up-tempo offense, without question an exciting prospect for fans and even Bucky himself.

"I've bought in," said Hodges. "The tempo is very fast. Getting adjusted to that, because we never did that since I've been here, it's a process, but I'm getting adjusted to it. The best thing is the tempo is hard on us right now, but it's gonna be hard on other teams during the season."

Tempo, Tempo, Tempo

It's been a common theme of the Hokies' spring practice, a buzzword that somehow finds its way into nearly every conversation.

Tempo.

It's long been a hallmark of the Justin Fuente system, one of his offense's calling cards at both Memphis and TCU. And while the Hokies are certainly moving at a faster pace this spring, Fuente remains wary of moving too quick too soon.

"I think they're adjusting to (the tempo) fine," said Fuente. "Football's football, the terminology is different, obviously. There's a little bit of a learning curve with that. And then to try at operate at a little bit quicker pace only enhances the learning curve. As you can imagine, like anything else, it's one thing to sit in a quiet room and take a test. It's another thing to be out there with your heart beating, sweat pouring down your face, and trying to answer those same questions. There's a little bit of an enhanced learning curve with the tempo we're trying to go at. We're trying to move a little slower so those guys can take that all in."

But as Hodges alluded to, the Hokies appear to have fully bought into the new way of doing things in Blacksburg.

"I think they're embracing it," said Fuente. "I like that part of it. They want to try to create that identity."

And after viewing a portion of the Hokies' Thursday evening practice, I'd tend to agree. Each position group moved with urgency from drill to drill, period to period, hellbent on getting as much work in as humanly possible.

"It kinda shocked us last Saturday," said Ekanem. "They had four team periods, back to back. It was all up-tempo, probably like 8 seconds between each play. So we're just constantly running. You do three or four plays and then you run off and the next group goes in. So your break's probably like 20 to 30 seconds long, and then you have to run back on the field and do those plays again. It was kind of conditioning at the same time as practicing. I'm very excited to see how we turn out."

Hokies Staying Mum On Quarterback Competition

There's a five-way quarterback competition underway this spring, but don't expect too much news to be flowing out of Blacksburg. Fuente and Co. have opted to keep the quarterbacks out of the media spotlight, presumably in an attempt to help the signal-callers focus on their performance on the field.

"I just think it's a little different when you've got a competition going on," said Fuente. "I don't think there's any reason to air out the entire competition for everybody to see. Those kids are working hard, competing for something they really want. I don't see any need to draw any more scrutiny than there already is. And they understand that part of it. As we move further in our time here and become more settled, we'll evaluate those things."

Fuente doesn't seem to be in an any hurry to name a starter, even going as far as saying he wouldn't mind extending the competition into the Hokies' season opener against Liberty on September 3.

"I don't see any reason to set a timetable for that," said Fuente. "We'll just kinda see how it goes and manipulate the reps as we go through practice and if it goes into the summer and into the first game, that's fine. We'll just see how it goes...We'll continue to evaluate them and whenever the time is when we feel like there is a starter, then we'll name one. But I'm not setting a timetable."

Unsurprisingly, Fuente didn't get into specifics on early standouts in the quarterback room, but the new head Hokie did comment on the overall progress of his signal-callers.

"Some good, some bad, from everybody involved," said Fuente. "It's just so new for everyone...There's been plenty of good things, plenty of highlights, and plenty of things for us to learn from."

Additional Quotes

Justin Fuente

OPENING STATEMENT:

"Before we begin, I'd like to welcome Coach Brooks and his family, our new women's basketball coach. Looking forward to getting to know them, develop a relationship. It's awfully nice not to be the new guy on the block...We had a good workout on Saturday. We put the shoulder pads on. I thought the kids attacked it with a tremendous amount of intensity. We're still figuring out where to go and what to do, but it's always good when you've got a group that you don't really know that well, when you put them out there the first day in pads and they get after it without you having to do much, egging them on. On the critical side, I didn't think we maintained that intensity throughout practice. I think we still have some work to do in terms of maintaining that level...But I thought we were off to a good start. It was a good first step. Today we'll put the full pads on. Won't change too much the format of practice. We'll still do some of the same stuff. It alters things just a little bit, but not a whole lot. We won't tackle to the ground or do anything like that today, but have a good, physical workout and see if we can take another step forward."

ON THE FRESHMAN RECEIVERS:

"They're doing well. They've shown some good competitiveness. It's a new world for them, obviously. Not just the fact that they're playing college football, but the coverages they're seeing and the techniques that they're going against, the speed of the game, all that sort of stuff is an adjustment. They're all 3 intelligent kids that are working diligently to try to help this football team. I like the way they're going."

ON HOW MANY RECEIVERS HE'D LIKE TO PLAY/BE COMFORTABLE WITH:

"I think when you got two, you're looking for three. And when you get three, you're looking for four. Trying to build it up that way. You can't walk in and say we wanna play eight guys right off the bat when there's only been really two guys with experience. We'll continue to try to build that depth...We won't just play guys just to play them because we want to play a certain way. You've gotta earn your way onto the field. It's not good enough just to play. You've gotta play well. So I don't have a target number, but I know we need more."

ON TEMPO/HOW FAST THE HOKIES WILL PLAY:

"How much of it, and how far we go down the road of it? We'll see. Ultimately, I've said this from Day One, we're not gonna operate at a tempo to sacrifice the other side of the ball just to say we're doing that. We're gonna try to find the best way for us to operate on both sides of the ball and on special teams and try to win the ballgame."

Ken Ekanem

ON HIS ADVICE TO TREVON HILL:

"I told him, it takes a while. You get over the physical aspect of it and then you get over the mental aspect of it. There's guys diving at your legs and stuff...It might take longer for some people to recover from it, it might take shorter, just depending on how the mentality is. I told him, 'Don't rush anything, just do whatever you feel comfortable (with).' I remember they issued me a knee brace that fall when I came in and I noticed I kept thinking about my knee because my knee was in a brace. As soon as I took it off in the spring I was flying around and not even thinking about it."

Mook Reynolds

ON HIS SWITCH TO SAFETY:

"It hasn't been difficult. Growing up, I played a lot of safety, a lot of linebacker growing up. So I've always had a natural feel to be around the ball and be involved in the run game a lot. Just moving here was actually more exciting than anything. Being the last line of defense is a certain mindset you've gotta have, and I adapted to that. I just like being that guy in the back who if it's a run team, he's involved in the run game. Pass team, he's involved in the pass game. I think you get the best of both worlds."

ON PLAYING BOTH SAFETY AND NICKEL:

"I do like wearing both hats. With the plans to after Chuck's gone, to take over one job (free safety). But until then, versatility at the nickel spot for what they're asking for this year, I bring a lot of things to it. Until Chuck departs, I think that's the best thing for the team."

ON COMFORT LEVEL FROM YEAR 1 TO YEAR 2:

"Coach Gray was a great coach, so I've kept a lot of the things that he instilled in us from we got here last year. So just being around him for a year, playing a season under him, I learned a lot. With a new coach coming in, everybody's open to new ways to do things. I'm taking views from both coaches and bringing them together. I've made a lot of plays so far by doing such. I just keep the little things that Coach Gray taught me about simple stuff like leverage and position on the back...and just going out there and actually doing it, I feel more mature out there. I'm not just a guy out there who's just playing. I'm a guy who's out there thinking now before the ball is snapped."

ON GALEN SCOTT:

"We're still learning Coach Scott. But as of what we've seen from right now, we like the guy. If it isn't T-Gray, we would want to play for a guy just like Coach Scott. He's an intense guy. He knows what he's talking about. He's been at the top before. Everything he teaches is credible."

Chuck Clark

ON COACH GRAY LEAVING AND TRANSITION TO COACH SCOTT:

"It surprised me a lot when Coach Gray left, actually. It came unexpectedly. But he told me that he had to make the best move for him and his family...With Coach Scott right now, the transition with him is going smooth so far. He's a good coach. I feel like he know what he's talking about."

ON MOOK REYNOLDS AT SAFETY:

"He's actually a ball-hawk. He likes to make plays around the ball, he gets to the ball. I think he'll be able to keep up the free safety tradition here."

ON BEING A SENIOR LEADER:

"It definitely does. I feel like I was just coming in the door as a freshman, playing special teams, trying to learn from Detrick (Bonner) and Kysheon (Jarrett) and Antone (Exum)...things were moving fast. I'm the senior now and I'm having to tell other guys, try to coach them on different things from experience that I know. It does feel a little bit weird."

Bucky Hodges

ON CHRIS DURKIN:

"Durk is very athletic. He's not afraid to hit anybody. He's a football player. Catches the ball good. He's very quick. I think it's gonna be a smooth transition for him."

ON TIGHT ENDS HE WATCHES IN THE NFL:

"Tight ends? Jimmy Graham. But just overall-wise, he just retired, Calvin Johnson. That was one of my favorite players. I tried to model my game after him. Other tight ends? You've got Charles Clay, Gronkowski, of course. He's a monster."

ON THE QUARTERBACKS:

"It's still early. All of them are doing things good. Right now it's just a consistency thing. It's just because it's early. We're about to be in our fourth practice right now. They gotta learn the most out of anybody in this offense. It's toughest on them. It's very early, but I love them. They're looking good."

Andrew Motuapuaka

ON HIS GOAL FOR THIS SPRING:

"This spring, I would say the biggest goal is probably being a vocal leader out there. Tried to do it this fall, but I'm trying to take it to a whole 'nother level this spring. Just getting back to what we're used to, being a great defense and a great team. Leading by example is not enough."

ON TREMAINE EDMUNDS' GROWTH AT BACKER:

"I like Tremaine. He's a quick learner. I like that he doesn't have a lot of pride. So when I tell him things to remember, what he has to do...he just takes it in and moves on to the next play. He's really coming along this spring."

Chris Durkin

ON WHEN HE ACTUALLY MOVED TO TIGHT END:

"About middle of the season last year. Just saw that I probably wasn't gonna get on the field as a quarterback, so I thought, 'Switch positions, try tight end. Do what I can to contribute.' Happy where I'm at right now."

ON ADJUSTMENT TO CATCHING PASSES:

"Actually in high school, my pregame warmup was running routes. So I've always loved running routes. I played receiver a little bit in high school...It's a little bit different. There's a lot better talent. But I've always enjoyed catching the ball."

ON OFFENSIVE INSTALLATION:

"It's early, we're just putting in base stuff right now. But I love it. Everybody else loves it. We really like the fact that we're trying to push tempo the way we are. It's gonna do nothing but wear down our opponents and put us in better shape."

ON THE QUARTERBACK ROOM:

"There's a lot of talent in that room. Anybody can play. Really can't tell you who's looking like the 1, 2, or 3, because honestly I don't even know. Everybody's playing. Everybody's getting reps. There's a lot of talent in that room. Whoever we put out there, I know they're gonna produce."

ON JAMES SHIBEST:

"Very energetic. Somebody who wants to get after it and will let you know when you're messing up. Honestly I love it. I think he's a great coach. He's a great fit for this program, a great fit for the tight end room. So I'm really excited to be coached by him the next couple of years."

Travon McMillian

ON HIS WEIGHT THIS SPRING:

"I gained a few pounds. I was about 198 last year entering the season. Right now I'm at 204. Entering the season I wanna be about 205, 206 area. I feel like that will benefit me. I'm not losing a step or anything."

ON THE GAME SLOWING DOWN:

"Yeah, definitely. I can read my keys a lot more and see cuts that I wasn't seeing last year. I definitely gained a lot of knowledge from last year."

ON SHAI MCKENZIE:

"He looks really good, really good. He looks a lot quicker than he was before...He's definitely on a mission right now to get back on the field, that's for sure."