Better Know a Buckeye: Jake Hausmann

Our Better Know a Buckeye series continues with its fourth installment. We profile Jake Hausmann, one of three tight ends Ohio State signed in its 2016 class. Hausmann comes to Ohio State from the Moeller program in Cincinnati.

Hausmann had a relatively uneventful recruitment. He already had some important scholarship offers after his sophomore season. Ohio State was fortunate to get into the fray before his sophomore year ended. The Buckeyes were in poll position from there, surviving an important push by Notre Dame.

I retell his recruitment below and the reasons for his commitment. Thereafter, I provide a scouting report for the No. 7 tight end prospect in the country. I conclude with a projection of a possible redshirt in 2016 and some highlight film for the reader to watch at the end.

HIS RECRUITMENT

The past three installments in this series were all firsts in their own way. Ohio State discovered IMG's Tyler Gerald when he was still at Sciotoville Community School, a relative backwater in high school football in the state. Kierre Hawkins is the first player to sign with Ohio State from Maple Heights High School. Jonathan Cooper, one of Ohio State's crown jewels, is the first Gahanna Lincoln alumnus to sign with any FBS program in the Rivals era and the first player to commit to Ohio State from the school since 1989.

Hausmann's story diverges from these firsts. Everyone knows about Archbishop Moeller High School. The program there is and has been one of the top programs in the state for decades. Its best players routinely matriculate to top programs in the Midwest and around the country, though the school has a peculiar legacy at Notre Dame.

There was no mistaking that Hausmann, who already had a great sophomore year film, was going to land somewhere. Cincinnati gave him his first "bird in the hand" scholarship offer on December 13, 2013 and encouraged him to stay home to play for the Bearcats.

More offers followed in the spring of his sophomore year, all of them coming from Power Five programs. Indiana, Louisville, and Virginia followed in a span of one week in April.

Ohio State trumped them all the day after the Virginia offer when it threw its hat into the ring. Hausmann may have appreciated the offers from Indiana and Louisville but was not a lifelong fan of the Hoosiers or Cavaliers like he was of the Buckeyes.

Hausmann's relatively uneventful recruitment belies the quality of offers he accrued that spring. Florida State offered three days after the Buckeyes. Penn State offered three days after the Florida State offer. He picked up more offers from Boston College, Kentucky, Michigan, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Wisconsin thereafter.

Hausmann was an Ohio State lean by most accounts, though he reiterated through the following summer of 2014 that he wanted to take his time and make a good decision. This still favored Ohio State's position but meant Notre Dame would be the primary competition. Notre Dame will almost always be a factor for a prospect coming from Moeller.

Notre Dame hosted Hausmann twice in the summer. He camped there on June 20 and visited Notre Dame again three days later. He had great remarks about Notre Dame's "Irish Invasion" event and spoke well of the coaches.

He even made it a point to return in September to watch the Irish shut out Michigan. He cited the electric atmosphere of that hyped contest and how welcome everyone in South Bend made him feel.

Yet, Ohio State never lost its position for Hausmann while he weighed the Irish as an option. The Buckeyes hosted him twice, first for the Cincinnati game and again for the Illinois game.

He knew by November it was either Notre Dame or the allure of playing for the childhood favorite Buckeyes. He aimed for a February 2015 decision, later pulling the trigger on January 25.

HIS COMMITMENT

Jake Hausmann became the fourth member of Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class when recruiting services announced his pledge to Ohio State on January 25, 2015. He committed while in Columbus for the national championship celebration at Ohio Stadium.

I'm excited to announce that I have officially committed to The Ohio State University to further my academic and athletic career #GoBucks

— Jake Hausmann (@Jake_Hausmann) January 25, 2015

"Family" is used a lot in recruiting profiles, but it's literal here. Hausmann will follow both his parents and his older sister to The Ohio State University as a student.

WHERE HE EXCELS

Hausmann is more a conventional tight end in this class while a prospect like Kierre Hawkins is more an H-back at the same position. He's a pro-style tight end and plays that role well.

He actually has a great burst off the line of scrimmage for a "conventional" tight end. He can do a lot of damage on a five-yard or ten-yard route in the middle of the field too. He runs solid outs too.

I'm intrigued by how well he can make some otherwise difficult catches. His film is replete with examples of him catching away from his body or extending his arms to catch a ball over his head on a corner route.

Moeller's head coach, John Rodenberg, had a lot of praise for Hausmann off-the-field too. Rodenberg praised Hausmann as a high-character guy who does well in the class room and takes seriously his time in the weight room.

All things bode well for a solid career at Ohio State.

MUST WORK ON

Hausmann can get open in a hurry, especially without an immediate jam from a linebacker. Don't mistake this for straight-line speed, which is not a real strength of Hausmann at the moment. I think he could do well to help himself as well as he can on this regard.

Pass-catching tight ends are always a boon and I'm of the mentality that you can never throw to your tight ends too much. Ohio State does not throw to its tight ends a whole lot, though. Hausmann will need to be a better blocker if he wants to see significant game action for the Buckeyes.

I don't know if this is him at the moment. He has the athleticism to do it and do it well. He can be effective both split wide and next to an offensive tackle.

Yet, his film does not have a lot of snaps that involve him taking on a linebacker or kicking out an end man on the line of scrimmage. Some of those clips that did appear in his highlight film also feature some suboptimal hand placement.

REDSHIRT?

I think Kierre Hawkins redshirts, but my hunch is either Jake Hausmann or Luke Farrell plays as a true freshman. Ohio State needs some depth at tight end in 2016 and a true freshman will likely contribute to it.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a projection of Hausmann playing as a true freshman while Farrell redshirts. It's clear Hausmann needs to make the most of his time in blocking drills to make his appearance as a true freshman a sure thing.

HIGHLIGHTS