If Mitch Rossi had entered the NFL draft after last season, he wouldn’t have been able to put his skills on full display during the pre-draft process.
After suffering a shoulder injury last season, Rossi underwent surgery this winter. That would have prevented Rossi from going through a full workout at Ohio State’s pro day, where he would have needed to have a strong showing to improve his chances of being drafted.
Had the NCAA not given all players a year of extra eligibility in 2020, Rossi – who was already a fifth-year senior last season – would not have had the option of playing another season at Ohio State. But since he did, Rossi decided to take advantage of it and stay in Columbus for a sixth year with the Buckeyes.
“At the beginning of last year, I just kind of wanted to have the best senior season possible. And then kind of towards the middle of the season, I kind of realized that the NFL was more of a realistic possibility. And then at the same time, my shoulder went out,” Rossi said. “So it kind of came along with I needed to rehab it and get it done anyways, because it was bothering me. And I was going to be here working with (Adam Stewart), because he's the best physical therapist in the country. So all that put together, and then they put together a pretty good pitch for me on getting me in a good grad program and helping me out with some connections beyond football. So it all kind of fell into place.”
Playing in the NFL seemed like a pipe dream for Rossi when he joined the Buckeyes as a walk-on running back in 2017. He wasn’t even planning to play college football until Ohio State invited him to walk on while he was visiting OSU alongside high school teammate Max Wray (who signed with the Buckeyes as a scholarship player in 2018 and spent three years at Ohio State before leaving the program) during the spring of his senior year of high school.
As Rossi’s role has steadily grown over the past five years, however, it’s become at least feasible that Rossi could play professionally.
He’ll likely need to have a productive sixth year at Ohio State to have a real chance of being drafted, considering he has just five career catches for 36 yards and one touchdown. That said, he could potentially fill a niche for an NFL team as a fullback – where he’s lined up for many of his 256 offensive snaps as a Buckeye – and as a core player on special teams, where he’s a regular on the punt, kickoff return and field goal teams for the Buckeyes.
Seeing the success of NFL fullbacks like Kyle Juszcyzk – who signed a five-year, $27 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers last offseason – has inspired Rossi to believe he could follow in their footsteps.
“I think that that role is starting to come back, you see like the 49ers and some other teams are using the fullback in a creative way,” Rossi said. “And I think that it's exciting that I kind of have that skill set. So potentially utilizing that here and maybe at the next level would be awesome.”
For now, Rossi is focused on trying to make as big of an impact as he can for Ohio State this fall. And he has a chance to play his most substantial role yet. With Jeremy Ruckert now in the NFL, Rossi is expected to be one of the leaders of the tight end unit this season along with Cade Stover.
How Ohio State will split up snaps at tight end this season remains uncertain, as Joe Royer and Gee Scott Jr. are also in the mix for playing time. It’s still probably more likely the 6-foot-1, 245-pound Rossi will be a role player rather than a regular starter, as Stover (6-4, 255) is a more conventional in-line tight end while Royer (6-5, 245) and Scott (6-3, 225) offer higher upside as downfield pass-catchers.
Ohio State offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson believes Rossi can be a valuable asset to the Buckeyes’ offense, though. Wilson has made a conscious effort to utilize Rossi in ways that best suit his skill set, and he plans to do so again this year.
“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,” Wilson said this spring. “So I see Mitch, in time, being that (guy who plays in two-back packages), a little bit of tight end but a little bit of a fullback, moving around guy.”
The uncertainty surrounding exactly what Rossi’s role will look like this season is partially because he was unable to participate in spring practices due to his shoulder surgery, but he said this spring that he would be back to full-go in time for preseason camp next month.
That will give Rossi the chance to prove throughout the month of August that he is capable of doing even more for the Buckeyes this year than he has in past years – and potentially impress NFL teams in the process – and he’s excited about that opportunity.
“I've kind of developed that trust from stepping into a bigger role, especially towards the end of the year last year. And I think that breaking that kind of barrier of being in the game and first, second, third quarter is something that takes time,” Rossi said. “And now that I've done that, it definitely gives me more confidence.”
