Ohio State leaned heavily on two-tight end sets against Maryland.
Gee Scott Jr. played a career-high 37 of Ohio State’s 63 offensive snaps against the Terrapins, with most of those plays coming alongside or opposite top Buckeye tight end Cade Stover.
“Coach Day said it at the beginning of the season, this offense is trending toward having versatility,” tight ends coach Keenan Bailey said. “I think we played, what, 60 percent 12 personnel (two tight ends, one running back), not counting third downs and red zone but base down and distance. It’s just a credit to our guys.”
Scott’s evolution as a blocker in addition to his background as a receiver have given the Buckeyes a dependable option to toy with and create mismatches defensively.
“Just with our tight end room, we’ve got, really, three or four guys that can do really good things in the pass game, getting out and running routes, and then also guys that can go in there and block,” quarterback Kyle McCord said. “So I think that creates a mismatch. If they want to put a linebacker on them, I like that matchup, and then if they want to keep an extra DB on the field, we’ll do a good job running the ball.”
Scott’s been on an upward trajectory in 2023.
He’s eclipsed 20 snaps in four of Ohio State’s five games, a barrier he broke just one time in 2022. His goal this offseason was to dive in and become the best version of himself on and off the field, and that focus has paid dividends in terms of playing time.
“Everything is amazing. It’s exactly the same as I said before, the way I approach football is the same way I approach everything else in life,” Scott said. “Whether it’s school, relationships, the way I treat the people around here, the way I’m a leader, all of those things kind of go hand-in-hand.”
Scott and Stover create dilemmas for defensive coordinators due to the athleticism of the tandem at their respective sizes. Stover is on pace for the most receiving yards ever in a season by an Ohio State tight end, with 19 catches for 306 yards and a touchdown in the team's first five games.
While Scott’s four receptions for 20 yards don’t match that level of production, his pedigree as a top-100 national recruit at wide receiver and burst from the line of scrimmage mean he’s someone who can’t be ignored by opposing defenses.
“Traditionally speaking, when teams trot out two tight ends, everyone in the stadium is thinking, ‘Run,’” Bailey said. “When you’ve got two athletic guys like we have, we can play 10 personnel, meaning no tight ends on the field, those kind of traditional sets throwing the ball, with two tight ends. So now as a defensive coordinator, I see Cade Stover and Gee Scott come running out, it’s like, ‘Do I defend that with an extra linebacker?’ If so, then you better be able to cover us.”
From Ryan Day’s perspective, a two-tight end package can also space out defensive fronts and force more men into the box by creating an extra “surface” at the end of the line of scrimmage, or two extra surfaces if both tight ends line up on one side.
“It certainly did allow us an opportunity to be explosive in the passing game,” Day said. “You can see that there were some really big plays out there. So that was good. When you have three surfaces on both sides or a four-man surface, there are just different wrinkles for the defense to have to deal with.”
Generally, what’s allowed Scott to see such frequent usage is his development as a blocker. The coaching staff now trusts that he’s capable of clearing space on running plays.
“Coming over from receiver, I really don’t think that he ever lost anything in his route running, his ball skills, anything like that,” McCord said. “I feel like the biggest thing was becoming that physical presence on the field. And it takes a while. When you play your whole life out on the perimeter and now you have to put your hand in the dirt – he’s done a great job embracing that. He’s one of the toughest guys on the team.”
More experience and some physical changes have been Scott’s biggest improvements as a line-mover this year, he added.
“Just continuing to get bigger,” Scott said. “Just bigger and stronger, and then repetition. Just like you do anything else in life, the more you do it, the better you get, the more comfortable you get.”
If Scott can keep improving, it can provide more options to open things up for an Ohio State offense still finding its footing.
“The last time we had this interview, I was the best version of myself then,” Scott said. “The whole goal is to be an even better version of myself now, and God willing, the next time I come in and sit down here, I’ll be an even better version of Gee Scott Jr.”
