When Cade Stover went back for an MRI at a local hospital in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve, Ohio State was still winning the Peach Bowl. By the time he came out, confetti cloaked the TV screen as Georgia celebrated its College Football Playoff victory.
Stover figured to be a key piece in Ohio State’s postseason run after emerging as a breakout pass-catching weapon at tight end during the 2022 season. But following his first catch against the Bulldogs, Stover suffered a fracture in his back that ended his CFP semifinal before the end of the first quarter.
Between the game’s final result and the fact that he wasn’t on the field to help the Buckeyes get over the hump, Stover said it was the most heart-wrenching experience of his football career – if not his life as a whole.
“Probably one of the hardest days of my life. Hardest moment of my life, for sure, so far,” Stover said. “You wait your whole life to get to that point, had an opportunity to play in that (playoff game) and that happens. Had my mom and my dad with me. It was hard. It's kind of even hard to talk about to be honest with you because that team was close and that was a special team and I wanted to see them do well like that. So for me not to be out there with them hurt bad and still kind of stings to this day.”
Stover racked up 35 catches for 399 yards and five touchdowns for the Buckeyes in the regular season, catapulting himself into NFL draft conversations despite having only caught five career passes before 2022. Flash back to the end of the 2021 season and it was unclear what position Stover would even play moving forward, considering he spent the Rose Bowl at linebacker.
Suddenly Stover had a decision to begin mulling over as his stellar year as Ohio State’s top tight end started to wind to a close. Stover admitted he “didn't know what was gonna happen” regarding his future entering Michigan week this past November.
But the pain of the Peach Bowl defeat had a profound impact on Stover, and in particular, how he saw it affect the rest of the Ohio State program.
“I just felt uneasy. I don't know if I'd ever forgive myself leaving a place like this, that I've put so much into, on a note like that.”– Cade Stover on returning to OHio State
“I didn't give a shit about how I felt, it just hurt for everybody else. Nobody realizes how much we really go through together,” Stover said. “When you're on the wall, somebody puking during mat drills, as nasty as that is and as weird as that is, I mean that's something that bonds you for a while. And to see that happen, that hurt. (The team) is just full of such good people that it's hard to see that happen to good people.”
So following the events that transpired on Dec. 31, 2022, Stover’s choice became clear.
“A lot of it had to do with, I just felt like there was more. As good as the year was, what the team had and everything, there's more left,” Stover said. “I just felt uneasy. I don't know if I'd ever forgive myself leaving a place like this, that I've put so much into, on a note like that.”
From the outside looking in, Stover’s decision to come back to Ohio State for a fifth season wasn’t exactly a no-brainer. His position coach, Kevin Wilson, left the program to become the new head coach at Tulsa. C.J. Stroud, the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist who passed him the ball in 2022, was considered a lock to go pro since the end of the previous season.
Stover wasn’t deterred by either of those variables. In fact, he said he expects the promotion of longtime Ohio State assistant Keenan Bailey will only aid in his progression toward becoming an NFL-caliber tight end.
“I thought with (Bailey) getting the job now, I'm gonna have a different side of development than I did before. And nothing against (Kevin Wilson). Coach Wilson was awesome,” Stover said. “Like, still stay in contact with him to this day, because he is such an important figure for me. But I just felt like there was more to do and more left, and I think I could be 10 times better than what I was. So that's what I'm gonna work towards.”
Stover didn’t second-guess Ohio State’s talent at quarterback, either. The Buckeye veteran said he likes what he’s seen from both Kyle McCord and Devin Brown so far this spring, and will be confident in the ability of anyone who earns the starting job under center this season.
“People kind of brought that up coming back, like, 'Who's gonna throw you the ball?' And as spoiled as we were with C.J., I mean, I trust these guys' development, I trust these young quarterbacks – whoever it's gonna be,” Stover said. “They're both playing great right now. So I trust whoever's gonna be throwing me the ball.”
As for his speedy recovery from the injury that ended his 2022 season, Stover’s not surprised he’s already back for the spring. Stover said “it’s just a bone” after all, and “ just a hairline fracture” at that. Stover said sitting out of spring camp was never an option.
“We're not missing ball,” he said.
Stover suffered the injury while hurdling a defender at the Peach Bowl, but he said if anything, the experience “probably doubled” his reckless abandon on the football field. Stover said the injury made him realize how precious his opportunities are and that if he realized that was going to be his last play in the CFP, he would have gone harder on every snap beforehand.
That’s the approach Stover’s taking this offseason in pursuit of alleviating the pain both he and his teammates felt in a heartbreaking end to the 2022 campaign.
“We live this, and all other people, you see us on Saturday. You see us 10 weeks on Saturdays and then you don't see what's going on right now,” Stover said. “You don't see what goes on in the summer. We're working so hard for such limited opportunities. And that's why sometimes it's hard to see those kids that do work as hard as we do get so close and not get fulfilled what we really worked for the whole entire time.”
