On its roster, Virginia Tech lists Bucky Hodges as a tight end. Same in the game notes. But on the depth chart, Hodges is slotted in at receiver. Highlights show he has mostly lined up wide this season.

This all poses quite the question: What position does Hodges really play?

"I call myself a football player," Hodges said in a recent phone interview. "Tight end, receiver ... whatever you want to call me."

How about Mr. Everything? Because Hodges has played tight end, receiver (out wide and in the slot) and H-back to varying degrees this season. He started to show his versatility over the past few seasons, but when he played receiver a year ago it was mostly in the slot. Seeing Hodges lined out wide regularly has been a major change.

The reason is fairly simple. New coach Justin Fuente and offensive coordinator Brad Cornelsen saw a clear-cut matchup advantage when they first started watching Hodges on tape. It is rare to find a player with Hodges' size (6-foot-7, 245 pounds), speed and athleticism.

He had proven he could play in the slot and on the line, but the added wrinkle would be having him line up wide to complement returning standout Isaiah Ford and Cam Phillips.

"We’ve coached some hybrids before, but not really that kind of a guy that can go line up as an outside receiver," Cornelsen said. "Most of the hybrids that you see and that you coach, maybe they can be tight end/slots or tailback/slots, but very rarely do you find a guy you can go put as an outside receiver and has the ability to run those outside receiver routes and play the ball, judge the ball, and do those things in the box that you do see most of the hybrid guys doing."

Fuente said they moved Hodges around during the spring to see where his skill-set would work best. Initially, that meant Hodges spent time in both the tight ends meeting room and the receivers meeting room. Eventually, Hodges spent all his time with the receivers, where he got to learn the intricacies of playing the position.

Hodges has learned patience is one of the biggest keys to lining up out wide.

"That was my biggest thing when I first went out there," Hodges said. "I’d see press coverage and I’d be impatient and wouldn’t work a release or anything and just tried to go 100 mph when you’ve got time to think about what you’re doing and have a plan for every route. Just doing that, it came to me over the summer just working on it more and more."

Hodges has gotten more comfortable as the season has gone on, and the coaches have gotten a better idea about how he can exploit defenses. Over the past three weeks, it has become obvious that Hodges has only just started to really show his full potential.

In a win against Miami, he set a career-high with seven receptions. Then last week against Pittsburgh, he set a career-high with 145 yards receiving. The Panthers play man-to-man defense, so Virginia Tech opted to try and win matchups against a banged-up Pitt secondary. Hodges had such a size advantage on the Panthers, he won every single jump ball that came his way.

"Whenever my number is called, it’s my opportunity to make a play," Hodges said. "If that’s what’s being presented, that’s what I’m going to keep doing. As long as we get this win, that’s all I really care about."

Though Hodges has made his recent successes look easy, it takes a special player to be able to do as much as Virginia Tech asks him to do.

"It is difficult, No. 1, having a guy physically that has the ability and talent to use such a broad spectrum of different skills he has to use out there," Cornelsen said. "Probably the biggest challenge week to week is mentally. The different techniques and looks he’s going to see is something he’s got to work at each week to make sure he’s ready to go. The nice thing about him and a few guys we ask so much out of is they’re sharp kids. They’re going to get it, they’re going to work until they get it. They’re going to be ready to go and give themselves a chance to be successful out there."

Hodges has done just that, helping diversify a Virginia Tech offense that is on pace to set a new school record for total offense in a season.