One tight end played more than 60 percent of Ohio State’s total snaps at the position in 2021. It’s unlikely any Ohio State tight end will play nearly that large a share of the snaps in 2022.
Last season, Jeremy Ruckert played 713 snaps at tight end while the rest of Ohio State’s tight ends played just 460 offensive snaps combined. With Ruckert now on his way to the NFL, though, Ohio State could look to divide playing time more evenly among three or four tight ends this season rather than having a clear-cut No. 1 player at the position.
That’s partially because the Buckeyes might not have a tight end on this year’s roster with a skill set quite as well-rounded as Ruckert’s. It’s also because the Buckeyes have a diverse mix of tight ends that they could look to get on the field in different situations.
Cade Stover is the likely frontrunner to start at tight end after moving back to the position following a brief switch to linebacker. Stover played the second-most snaps among Ohio State tight ends behind only Ruckert last season, and among the Buckeyes’ four tight ends who are in at least their third year at Ohio State, he’s the only one with the measurables offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson truly desires at the position at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds.
But sixth-year senior Mitch Rossi and third-years Joe Royer and Gee Scott Jr. are expected to have roles in the tight end rotation, too. Rossi is viewed as more of a fullback than a true tight end at only 6-foot-1, but he is a strong blocker who saw playing time on offense in every game but one last season and should only see his role increase this year. Royer and Scott are former high school wide receivers who are still growing into being full-time tight ends, but both of them offer the potential to be dangerous weapons in the passing game.
Wilson says his goal is to allow all four of them to play to their strengths rather than trying to fit them into the same mold. So rather than there being a defined pecking order at the position, that could mean playing different tight ends depending on what the Buckeyes are trying to accomplish on offense or the matchups they are facing from the opposing defense.
“What we'd like to do in time, we did a little bit better last year I thought with Mitch, was when Mitch was in, we played to the strengths that fit him. And in time, if we get some consistency with Cade and then with Gee and then with Joe, we can play to their consistency,” Wilson said this week. “So I see Mitch, in time, being that (guy who plays in 21 personnel), a little bit of tight end but a little bit of a fullback, moving around guy. I see Cade being a tight end that we'll see where the passing grows, which I think could grow high. I really like the way Joe and Gee were coming, that are the little bit more athletic that can catch but are coming in the blocking.
“To me, the tight end group’s like a basketball unit. It'd be nice if they were all 6-5, 6-6 and 260-70 and ran 4.4. But they're not. Typically some guys block better, some guys run routes better. But when those guys get going and you put them on the field and you can move those parts around and you can take advantage of matchups, and that's what we're looking for.”
Because of their varied skill sets, there are a multitude of ways in which Wilson and the Buckeyes could look to deploy the tight ends. While Stover should play most of his snaps as an in-line tight end, Rossi will likely continue to line up in the backfield as he did for many of his snaps in 2021, while Royer and Scott might often be flexed out as bigger slot receivers, particularly in passing situations.
The one thing Wilson says they all have to be able to do regardless of where they’re lining up is block, so how much Scott (who Wilson says currently weighs between 232-235 pounds) and Royer (who weighs between 239-242 pounds) continue to improve as blockers will go a long way in determining how much they get on the field.
| Player | Ht | Wt | Yr | Career Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CADE STOVER | 6-4 | 255 | RS JR | 24 games played, 5 catches for 76 yards |
| MITCH ROSSI | 6-1 | 245 | SIXTH | 36 games played, 5 catches for 36 yards, 1 TD |
| JOE ROYER | 6-5 | 242 | RS SO | 5 games played, 1 catch for 9 yards |
| GEE SCOTT JR. | 6-3 | 235 | JR | 12 games played, 5 catches for 42 yards |
| SAM HART | 6-5 | 245 | RS FR | Has not yet played |
| BENNETT CHRISTIAN | 6-6 | 245 | FR | Has not yet played |
| PATRICK GURD* | 6-4 | 245 | RS SO | 2 games played |
| ZAK HERBSTREIT* | 6-2 | 235 | RS FR | Has not yet played |
| *Walk-ons |
“They're developing nicely,” Wilson said of Royer and Scott. “They're making some good plays in the pass game. They're better in the blocking game. Cade gives us a little bigger presence on the edge.”
Considering how much talent the Buckeyes have at wide receiver, Wilson doesn’t anticipate having two tight ends on the field too often this year, but he believes the Buckeyes will be able to attack defenses in a wide variety of ways out of 12 personnel because of the different skill sets they have at the position.
“It's hard not to get Emeka (Egbuka) out there and it's hard not to get Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) and what we'll get with Marvin (Harrison Jr.) and Julian (Fleming) and the young guys, so there's gonna be a lot of 11. But when 12 goes on the field, it needs to be a 12 that can go big enough to mash you and still spread you out and make plays based on how you want to match up with us,” Wilson said. “So it's like playing basketball. They pack it in, you gotta hit some threes. When they spread it out, you gotta attack the post.”
With Stover, Rossi, Royer and Scott all looking to get a piece of the pie along with redshirt freshman Sam Hart and true freshman Bennett Christian, there is no shortage of competition for playing time at tight end. But the tight ends who met with the media on Thursday all seemed to be bought into the plan for how they can complement one another.
“I think it's awesome that we have a lot of skill sets in the room, and I think that it's encouraging that hopefully we pose like different abilities that our coaches can kind of use to our advantage and hopefully get us all out there a little more at the same time,” Rossi said.
Royer – the only one of the top tight ends who was actually recruited by Ohio State as a tight end, as Stover was originally a linebacker, Rossi walked on as a running back and Scott was recruited as a wideout – said he thinks the tight ends will complement each other “really well.”
“We're all really good at different things, we all bring different things to the table,” Royer said. “We all try to work with each other, help each other out and get each other better.”
