Virginia Tech's Post-Spring Stock Report: Tight Ends

Virginia Tech's tight ends were prominent in April 18's spring game. The cohort, which saw five of its players tally receptions, combined for 205 receiving yards on 17 catches. Now that spring ball's in the books, here are my thoughts on the unit.

Updated Depth Chart

Though Luke Reynolds and Benji Gosnell appear to be the 1-2, that's not to say Ja'Ricous Hairston won't play a role. The walk-on-turned-scholarship player totaled a room-high 112 receiving yards last season. Not only that, but he also totaled a team-high three receiving touchdowns.

Though Hairston has not started in any of the 27 games he has played in college, he will still play a vital role in how Virginia Tech's tight end room comes together. As a result, here's my current depth chart for the top three.

Luke Reynolds (Jr.)
Benji Gosnell (r-Sr.)
Ja'Ricous Hairston (r-Jr.)

I think that beyond that, either Penn State transfer Matt Henderson or returnee Harrison Saint Germain should slot in as the No. 4 tight end, while Pierce Petersohn redshirts.

Trending Up Or Down?

The answer is an unequivocable up. Let's look quickly at the tight end numbers for 2025.

Ja'Ricous Hairston: 112 receiving yards, 12 receptions, three touchdowns
Benji Gosnell: 86 receiving yards, 12 receptions, no touchdowns
Harrison Saint Germain: 28 receiving yards, four receptions, no touchdowns
Total: 226 receiving yards, 28 receptions, three touchdowns

At the spring game alone, Virginia Tech nearly eclipsed that total. The Hokies' five tight ends combined for 205 receiving yards on 17 catches. More than just the numbers, there also is an added sense of depth. Virginia Tech returned its top three tight ends in Hairston, Gosnell and Saint Germain and added Reynolds as a de-facto TE1 on top.

How Did Virginia Tech's Tight Ends Do At The Spring Game?

At the spring game, Reynolds paced all targets with 69 receiving yards on five catches. Saint Germain added to the Maroon team's tally with 29 receiving yards on a pair of catches. Over for the white team, Gosnell and Hairston were the two teams' leading pass-catches, hauling in five and four receptions for 34 and 58 receiving yards, respectively.

Finally, there was walk-on Brody Jones, who logged one catch for 15 receiving yards. Virginia Tech's tight ends logged more receiving yards than the tight ends due to the "naked bootleg" — defined by Football Advantage as a play-action pass where the quarterback switches "the direction of play and then [throws] on the run." Here's the full explanation:

"On this play, quarterbacks will run with the football in hand toward either sideline, looking to throw a pass to one of the receivers.

... In many cases, the bootleg will start with a fake handoff to a running back to throw the defense off. Then, the quarterback will then sprint out to either the left or right.

A lead blocker, usually an offensive guard, will then pull towards the same direction and accompany the quarterback.

The lead blocker is there to provide the quarterback extra protection as he moves outside of the pocket, and also to give him a few options.

The first option is almost always to throw the ball to an open receiver downfield.

They can either throw on the run to a receiver who is running a route in the same direction, or he can stop, plant his feet, and throw back across the field to a receiver running a deep route or a route toward the other side of the field. ...

This is a great option for mobile quarterbacks, especially, as the bootleg play sometimes creates huge open running room toward the outside of the field -- based on both the fake handoff, the misdirection sprint, and the routes that the receivers are running."

The Hokies utilized the naked bootleg play to great success, carving out a much more sizable role for the tight ends than in years past. Franklin's offenses have produced several high-caliber NFL tight ends in the past: Tyler Warren, Brenton Strange, Mike Gesicki and Pat Freiermuth come to mind.

Virginia Tech's 2026 season starts on Saturday, Sept. 5, when the team hosts VMI in the two schools' first meeting since 1984.

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