Temuchin "Bucky" Hodges Jr (born August 8, 1995) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
who is currently a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. He was most recently a member of the
Edmonton Elks
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL). He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
, and was drafted by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
in the sixth round of the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
.
Early years
Born in
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
to Temuchin Hodges and Kimberly Thompson, Hodges attended
Salem High School, where he played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for coach Robert Jackson. Growing up, he admired former
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
quarterback and current
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
wide receiver
Terrelle Pryor
Terrelle Pryor Sr. (born June 20, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver and quarterback. Considered the most recruited high school football-basketball athlete in southwestern Pennsylvania since Tom Clements, Pryor was widely regarde ...
, and as a quarterback, Hodges modeled his game after him. During his freshman season, Hodges, who was listed at 6'5", focused on his speed and lowered his
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
time from 5.3 to 4.6 seconds. As a 15-year old sophomore in 2010, Hodges guided the Sun Devils to an 8–4 record, scoring eight times on 102 carries that netted 438 yards, along with connecting on 59.8% of his passes for 1,602 yards and thirteen more scores. In a playoff game victory over rival
Ocean Lakes High School
Ocean Lakes High School (OLHS) is a public high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is located in the city's southeastern section.
Math and Science Academy
A notable feature of Ocean Lakes high school is the Math and Science Academy, started ...
, completing 21 of 27 passes for 211 yards with two touchdowns as eight different receivers caught at least two balls. In a narrow loss the next week to
Oscar Smith High School
Oscar F. Smith High School (also known as Smith High or OSHS) is a public high school with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students in grades 9- 12. The school is located on a campus in the Greenbrier West area of the city of Chesapeake, V ...
, Hodges completed 18 of 23 with one touchdown. During that 2010 playoff run, Hodges weighed in at only 185 pounds, so he spent the offseason adding mass to his frame, and by the start of his junior year, he had gained twenty pounds. In his junior season, Hodges completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,142 yards and 26 touchdowns with six interceptions and rushed for 434 yards and nine more touchdowns as the Sun Devils finished with a 9–1 record in the region. As a senior, he completed 126 of 206 passes for 2,214 yards, with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions while also adding 505 more yards and 11 touchdowns through the ground, earning first-team All-Tidewater selection by ''
The Virginian Pilot
''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
'' as well as first-team All-Beach District selection as an “"athlete" and second-team selection at quarterback. After finishing his high school career, Hodges participated in the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl.
In addition to football, Hodges also played basketball and ran track at Salem. In
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, Hodges averaged ten points and seven rebounds per game during his first season on the varsity. During the 2011 hoops season, he played in 21 games after the gridiron schedule concluded, blocking ten shots as he averaged 10.1 points per game, making 77-of-171
field goals
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ball ...
and 36-of-67
free throws
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...
. He pulled down 168
rebounds
'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...
(8.0 avg), handed out 45 assists and had fifteen
steals. When the basketball season concluded, he tried his hand in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
. As a member of the 2011 indoor team, he recorded a 42.25-second mark in the 300 meters at SNU's High School Winter Frolic, where he also posted a high jump mark of 5'4" (1.64m). During the 2011 outdoor season, he finished second in the triple jump (38'2") at the Tallwood Meet and tossed the discus (74'4") at The Fork Outdoor Invitational. At that event, he was also a member of the school's 4x100 relay team that captured the title with a time of 49.13 seconds. In 2012, Hodges finished third in the
100 meters
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...
with a time of 11.28 seconds at the Beach District, adding a second place mark of 23.32 seconds in the
200 meters
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
while finishing second in the 400 meters at 52.86 seconds. His
4 × 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...
team was also runner-up at that event with a time of 43.79 seconds. CNU's 28th Annual High School Captains Classic was where he helped the
4 × 400 metres relay
The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...
team finish at 3:41.15. He also posted personal-best times of 38.61 in the
300 meters and 51.63 seconds in the
400 meters
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...
during the 2012 season.
A unanimous four-star recruit, Hodges was listed as the 171st-best overall player in the country, the tenth-best pro-style quarter-back in the prep ranks and the tenth-best athlete in the state of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
by ''
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
''. He was ranked 179th in the nation by
PrepStar
''PrepStar College Recruiting'', known also as ''PrepStar'', is an online magazine at www.prepstar.com, which was established in 1982. It provides information on the top football and basketball prospects in the United States. The online magazin ...
and the fourth-best prospect in the state by ''
The Roanoke Times
''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...
''. Super Prep also regarded him as the state's fifth-best player while
247Sports
247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount.
The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite b ...
considered him to be Virginia's seventh-best athlete and the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the country. On April 21, 2012, Hodges committed to
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
to play college football. He had scholarship offers from Virginia, Illinois, Ohio State and West Virginia, among others, and also raised some interest from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and
Notre Dame.
College career
Originally recruited as a pro-style quarterback, Hodges arrived at
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
as the presumed heir to
Logan Thomas
Logan Lamont Thomas Sr. (born July 1, 1991) is an American football tight end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech in the early 2010s, where he finished as the sch ...
at quarterback, but converted from quarterback to tight end during the spring of 2013 and earned the "Coaches Award for the offense" for his exceptional spring session. In 2013, Hodges redshirted while working with the scout team as both a quarterback and tight end. He bench-pressed 315 pounds and posted a 365-pound front squat in fall scout team max testing. He improved those numbers in spring testing, posting a 325-pound bench press, a 400-pound front squat, a 315-pound power clean and a 300-pound push jerk. In 2015, Hodges started all 13 games, recording 40 receptions for 530 yards with six receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. As a redshirt junior in 2016, Hodges played in all 14 games and had 691 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns. Hodges finished his Virginia Tech career as the fifth-leading receiver in Hokies history, with 133 receptions. He had 1,747 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns, the latter figure ranking third in Tech history.
Freshman season (2014)
![2014 Military Bowl Bucky Hodges defended](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/2014_Military_Bowl_Bucky_Hodges_defended.jpg)
During winter workouts, Hodges impressed his teammates by running a 4.46-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
and posting a 38'5"
vertical jump
A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...
, numbers that were fifth and third on the team, respectively.
After redshirting his first year in 2013, Hodges played in all 13 games in 2014, making 10 starts and logging 678 plays, 612 on offense and 66 on special teams. He recorded 45 receptions (the most ever for a freshman tight end at Tech) for 526 yards and scored seven total touchdowns (six receiving, one on special teams) on the season. In his collegiate debut against
William & Mary, he caught six passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. The following week, he scored a touchdown in his first career start, finishing the
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
win with two catches for 21 yards. In week 5 against
Western Michigan
West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...
, he went for 88 yards and a touchdown on four catches. In the Hokies' win over
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
on November 15, he scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard reception to start the fourth quarter, finishing the game with six catches for 57 yards. He had four receptions for 39 yards at
Wake Forest the next week, becoming the single-season leader for catches by a tight end under coach
Frank Beamer
Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...
as his four grabs surpassed the previous mark of 38. In week 12, he scored the game-winning touchdown against
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
on a 9-yard pass from quarterback
Michael Brewer
Michael Brewer (born November 13, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech and was their starting quarterback from 2014 to 2015. Prior to that he played at Texa ...
and also recovered a blocked punt in the end zone in the second quarter, taking it to the end zone. His efforts earned him freshman All-American recognition by
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
and third-team All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
selection by ACSMA.
Sophomore season (2015)
Hodges was a second-team All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
selection by the coaches and third-team All-ACC selection by the ACSMA as a sophomore. He started all 13 games, recording 40 catches for 530 yards and six touchdowns and rushing five times for 27 yards and a touchdown. On October 24, he had five catches for 101 yards and a career-high three touchdowns against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
. In week 11, he had six catches for 44 yards and a touchdown against
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. He had an all-around performance in the
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...
against
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, carrying the ball five times 27 yards and a touchdown and hauling in four catches for 38 yards as the Hokies defeated the Golden Hurricane 55–52.
Junior season (2016)
A tight end for the previous two seasons under offensive coordinator
Scot Loeffler
Scot Loeffler (born November 1, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Bowling Green State University. He formerly served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College. He was ...
in Frank Beamer's final years as the Hokies' head coach, Hodges played wideout in
Justin Fuente
Justin James Fuente (born July 30, 1976) is a former American football coach and player. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 2016 to 2021. He was the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year. Fuente was the head football coach at the Universit ...
's spread offense in his junior season. The move to the outside worked out well and Hodges enjoyed his most productive season as he set career-highs with 48 catches for 691 yards and scored seven touchdowns for the third straight season. He earned third-team All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
honors from the league's coaches.
After the season, on December 30, a day after the Hokies' 35-24 come-from-behind win against
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
in the
Belk Bowl
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2002. The game currently features a matchup between a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) ...
, Hodges' father, Temuchin, confirmed his intentions to enter the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
.
Professional career
In December 2016,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
draft analyst
Mel Kiper Jr.
Mel Kiper Jr. (; born July 25, 1960) is an analyst covering American football for ESPN. He has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984, providing in-depth information on the nation's potential draft picks.
Career
Kiper said th ...
had Hodges along with Alabama's
O. J. Howard
O'Terrius Jabari "O. J." Howard (born November 18, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fi ...
as his top tight ends on the draft board. He gave both a first-round grade, ranking Hodges as the No. 32 prospect overall.
Minnesota Vikings
Hodges was drafted by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
, in the sixth round, 201st overall, in the
2017 NFL Draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
. He was the second Hokie off the board, joining safety
Chuck Clark
Charles Edward Clark Jr. (born April 19, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. Clark was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round ...
, who went earlier in the sixth round to the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
. Hodges ended up being the 13th tight end off the board. He was the first offensive player selected from Virginia Tech since quarterback
Logan Thomas
Logan Lamont Thomas Sr. (born July 1, 1991) is an American football tight end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech in the early 2010s, where he finished as the sch ...
(now a tight end) went to the Cardinals in the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. On September 3, 2017, Hodges was waived/injured by the Vikings and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 12, 2017.
Carolina Panthers
On September 15, 2017, Hodges was signed to the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
' practice squad. He was released on October 31, 2017.
New York Jets
On April 3, 2018, Hodges signed with the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
. He was released on July 29, 2018.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On August 2, 2018, Hodges signed with the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 2, 2019. He was waived on April 25, 2019.
New York Jets (second stint)
On July 24, 2019, Hodges signed with the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
, but was waived/injured on August 3. He was placed on injured reserve after clearing waivers on August 4. He was placed on the exempt/left squad list on September 3, 2019, and waived from the list on October 1.
Hodges worked out for the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
on November 12, 2019.
He was selected by the Generals of
The Spring League
The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...
in their player selection draft on October 10, 2020.
Edmonton Elks
The Elks announced the signing of Hodges on January 26, 2022. Hodges was released by the Elks on May 12, 2022, before the start of training camp.
Career statistics
College
References
External links
Virginia Tech Hokies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Bucky
1995 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia
Players of American football from Virginia
American football tight ends
Virginia Tech Hokies football players
Minnesota Vikings players
Carolina Panthers players
New York Jets players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
The Spring League players