They've been hinted for a while, but a couple of position switches are now official as Cade Stover is moving from the defensive side of the ball to tight end and Cormontae Hamilton is switching from tight end to the defensive line.
Stover played defense throughout his first year at Ohio State, arriving as a linebacker and also spending time on the defensive line. He saw 35 snaps during his redshirt season, split across both positions. He now moves to tight end, after adding 20 pounds to move from 235 to 255, which is about the average weight of the Buckeye tight ends.
“I think Cade, when you look at his skill set, his basketball background and his spatial awareness, his toughness, we think that he projects and can be a really good tight end,” Day said.
While Stover joins the tight end room, Hamilton leaves it. Hamilton has been in the tight ends room since his arrival in Columbus, but did not play a single snap his debut season. He now moves to the defensive line. Day said Monday that Hamilton could potentially end up at either defensive tackle or defensive end.
“Coach Johnson worked with him in a camp and saw what he can do on the defensive line, and just watching him this year on the scout team, we thought he had a chance to play really good in terms of a tackle – or at defensive end, he can do both – so we’re gonna see what happens this spring,” Day said.
In other positional news, Demario McCall is listed on Ohio State's spring roster as a wide receiver. Since his arrival in Columbus, McCall has bounced between receiver and running back, never seeming to find a consistent place in the Buckeye offense. Day said Monday that McCall could still potentially move back to running back, too, but he's at wide receiver for now.
McCall had figured to compete for reps at the running back position this season after the departure of J.K. Dobbins. But it seems his best chance to see the field may be in the slot instead, after the departure of K.J. Hill.
