For years – literally years – Ohio State fans have had this Chicago Cubs-esque running gag.
"Next year," they'll posit. "We'll start getting the ball to the tight end more."
It could be the underlying truth behind that snarky response that has kept the Buckeyes from recruiting that position like Urban Meyer would like to the last few years. His reputation as a tight-end friendly coach at Florida followed him to Columbus, but the on-field results haven't been there through the first five years of his Ohio State tenure.
With Ed Warinner taking over the tight ends – and a much bigger role in the play-calling for the Buckeyes – this spring showed that this may actually really be the year. Marcus Baugh caught seven balls, leading the team and was J.T. Barrett's clear top target.
Heading into the spring, Warinner's room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center has been basically empty. Redshirt freshman Rashod Berry has moved to defensive end, leaving just Baugh and another redshirt freshman, A.J. Alexander, as scholarship tight ends on the roster. That number will more than double in a few weeks when incoming four-star freshmen Jake Hausmann, Luke Farrell and Kierre Hawkins arrive on campus, giving Warinner a bit more to work with this summer than Tim Hinton had the last few.
Perhaps that's why there's been no real effort by Ohio State to recruit a tight end in 2017?
As it stands, the Buckeyes have offered only five players at the position but have really only aggressively pursued one, Notre Dame commit Cole Kmet. Out of the other four that have Ohio State offers, only recent offer Alexander Marshall has been actively recruited in the last month, but he's set to pick a school on June 12th and it seems his choice will be between Alabama, Florida and Florida State –– not Ohio State.
Even the lone Ohio 2017 tight end – Cincinnati's Matt Dotson – appears bound for Penn State or Michigan State as the Buckeyes haven't been too involved with the Archbishop Moeller star in recent months.
Why is 2017 not a priority? We're all aware of how tight numbers are for the Buckeyes, and right now all five tight ends on the roster should be back next season. The likely scenario this summer is that Hausmann, Farrell and Hawkins will compete and the winner will get some playing time this season while the "losers" take a redshirt, meaning next season's roster will include a redshirt senior in Baugh, a redshirt sophomore (Alexander), a true sophomore and two redshirt freshmen.
There are some discussions about what could happen if Baugh were to leave early, and a possible adjustment in the recruiting efforts could happen later in the year, but right now, it seems all tight end recruiting is shifting to 2018.
In fact, the Buckeyes have offered four tight ends in 2018 already, including three in the last two weeks. Who are the names to watch at that position?
ZACK KUNTZ • CAMP HILL, PENNSYLVANIA • NATIONAL RANK: 1 • HIGHLIGHTS
Kuntz is the longest-standing offer in the 2018 class, and the Pennsylvania five-star has been a big target for a few months now. Ohio State was unable to keep Adam Breneman in the 2013 class, or Mike Gesicki in the 2014 class, away from Penn State, and to land Kuntz they'll have a similar fight on their hands.
MALCOLM EPPS • HOUSTON, TEXAS • NATIONAL RANK: 4 • HIGHLIGHTS
A 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior-to-be, Epps is already committed to Alabama, but it's not stopped the Buckeyes from making recent overtures in his direction. The Buckeyes are working overtime in Texas this year and they're hoping it will have some residual payoff in 2018.
MUSTAPHA MUHAMMAD • MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS • NATIONAL RANK: 8 • HIGHLIGHTS
Another Texas star, Muhammad is becoming one of the country's hottest prospects this spring. He's been paying attention to what Ohio State has done with their last two tight ends and he's on record saying the well-rounded nature of the Buckeyes' offense is attractive to him.
JEREMY RUCKERT • LINDENHURST, NEW YORK • NATIONAL RANK: N/A • HIGHLIGHTS
The most recent tight end offer is the New York native Jeremy Ruckert. He's got a frame and athleticism that brings to mind Jake Stoneburner, Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett and he's just starting to emerge on the national scene. He's up to 16 offers and told 11W he intends to visit Ohio State this summer and if he does, he's a guy that could really step into the spotlight for the Buckeyes.
TRENTON GILLISON • PICKERINGTON, OHIO • NATIONAL RANK: 7 • HIGHLIGHTS
Gillison has not been offered by Ohio State, but he's Ohio's best pure tight end in the 2018 class and is a player that the Scarlet and Gray will be watching very closely this summer and in the upcoming season. He's got the size (6-foot-5, 220-pounds) to be an impact player in the Big Ten, and with 13 offers already, there won't be an opportunity for Ohio State to wait too long before offering: the last tight end from Pickerington they let slip away – Michigan's Jake Butt – is having a pretty good career in Ann Arbor.
