The tight end position at Ohio State is one that's talked about nearly every single year amongst Buckeye fans. The discussion doesn't relate to the quality of player — after all, it has been pretty good in recent years with Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett — but more so from the overall offensive philosophy and how exactly the tight end fits into the game plan.
Is this the year Ohio State finally throws the ball to the tight end?
Heuerman and Vannett occupied the starting tight end position for the Buckeyes the past four seasons — Heuerman from 2012-14 and Vannett last season. Heuerman was a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2015 NFL Draft while Vannett widely projects to be selected anywhere in the mid-rounds in this year's Draft.
The talent at tight end was never really in question. The production, however, rarely matched it.
Heuerman finished his three years as a starting tight end with 51 catches for 767 yards and seven touchdowns. Vannett — with three years as the No. 2 and one as the starter — totaled 55 catches for 585 yards and six scores in his Ohio State career.
The two were asked to do a lot more blocking than pass-catching throughout their tenures in Columbus, and each turned into a well-rounded player, but fans still screamed for more throws to the tight end.
Ed Warinner moved from offensive line coach to tight ends coach this spring and he was asked his thoughts on how he felt Ohio State used his new position over the years.
"As far as the past, I mean 50-4, I’m not going to second-guess anything we did other than I would have liked to have gone 54-straight, but we didn’t," Warinner said. "I was part of an offensive staff here and those were decisions that we made.
"Sometimes — all passes you can say maybe the primary receiver is the tight end, but if they cover him you’ve gotta throw to somebody else. There may be times where they were the primary receiver or even the second option and he doesn’t get it. I think defenses can dictate that and if they think stopping the tight end is important they can make you throw it somewhere else.”
With Heuerman and Vannett now both gone, it's time for a new starter for the Buckeyes. That spot belongs to redshirt junior Marcus Baugh, who saw his first real action last season as the backup to Vannett. Baugh had just a pair of catches for 32 yards in 2015.
He, like Vannett, is a natural pass-catcher and showed a lot of that in Ohio State's spring game. Baugh had seven catches for 64 yards last weekend. Now, it's only a spring game, but it could perhaps have been a glimpse of what's to come.
“Now that they have me running routes and stuff, I feel pretty good all around," Baugh said earlier this spring. "Blocking for a couple years and now I get to run routes like I did before, I feel pretty good.”
As far as the No. 2 tight end goes, right now that appears to belong to redshirt freshman A.J. Alexander as Ohio State moved Rashod Berry over to defensive end. But that's far from set in stone as the Buckeyes have a trio of freshman tight end options arriving in June in Jake Hausmann, Luke Farrell and Kierre Hawkins. Chase Hounshell, a walk-on graduate transfer from Notre Dame, announced last week he would also be joining the program in the fall.
The No. 2 tight end position has become increasingly important of late in Urban Meyer's power-spread offense, so it's a key position battle when fall camp finally arrives.
But like Vannett was last year, Baugh is the clear No. 1 tight end this season. And when Warinner was asked if he envisions any changes now that he is the tight ends coach in addition to the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator, Warinner offered up a response that is likely music to the ears of Ohio State fans.
"When the tight end coach is the offensive coordinator, there’s a lot more throws headed that way," he joked.
