Seeing Patrick Gurd in some of the spots he appeared in last year may have come as a surprise to some.
The walk-on tight end played two snaps in a tight 24-10 win at Wisconsin in 2023 and 14 snaps in a tighter-than-the-scoreline 35-16 win at Rutgers. He played 39 snaps on the season in total and made special teams contributions throughout the back half of the year.
Now one of a handful of Ohio State’s tight ends with some high-leverage experience as the unit replaces two-year starter Cade Stover, Gurd is looking to step into a leadership role and carve out even more reps in a competitive position room alongside Gee Scott Jr., Jelani Thurman, Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek and others.
“Being able to come back after last fall, it's a blessing,” Gurd said. “I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Great group of guys. As you can see, a lot of people have come back as well, and our team is looking awesome. It's fun to be around the guys. Brotherhood's all here, and the competition's awesome.”
Gurd’s love for Ohio State was instilled in him from a young age. His father, Andy Gurd, played linebacker for the Buckeyes during the transition from Earle Bruce to Jon Cooper.
“My dad played here from ‘87 to ‘91 as a linebacker, so I grew up an Ohio State fan,” Gurd said. “It was always a dream of mine to be able to come here, so when the opportunity came my senior year to be able to walk on here, I jumped on it. And I didn't know what I was stepping into, but my dad kind of had that blood in me, a little bit of, ‘You've got to get going.’ The attitude and effort were a huge part of his teaching with me.”
Now, with some reps under his belt, Gurd is trying to coach up the younger players in Ohio State’s tight end room. Bennett Christian is still getting his sea legs back after missing last season due to a suspension, Damarion Witten is starting his career at wide receiver but still has a good chance to slot in at tight end long-term and Max LeBlanc will be breaking into his freshman season as well.
“I'm definitely trying to step into that spot and be there for the younger guys to help uplift them,” Gurd said. “Gee does a great job with the leadership aspect and just teaching-wise, and if someone messes up, he'll be there to coach you up, but he's not harping on you. We all get that. But I feel like all of us are together on the aspect of trying to get each other tough and keep on going when it gets hard.”
Gurd is taking inspiration in his leadership from previous Ohio State walk-ons Mitch Rossi and Cade Kacherski. Rossi is one of the more accomplished walk-ons in recent memory aside from wide receiver Xavier Johnson, playing 286 snaps with a majority as a spread fullback for the 2022 Ohio State squad. That included a position-high 47 snaps after an injury to Stover in that year’s College Football Playoff semifinal. He recorded one receiving and one rushing touchdown.
Kacherski saw action for the Buckeyes in mop-up duty and was a dedicated member of the scout team in practice for four years.
“Both started off as walk-ons as well,” Gurd said. “Those were the two I wanted to look up to, and they laid the groundwork for me. They showed me the ropes, and I feel like I'm trying to do what they were able to do here. And now that I've been able to accomplish some things, I want to do more for the team.”
"I feel like all of us are together on the aspect of trying to get each other tough and keep on going when it gets hard."– Patrick Gurd on the leadership in Ohio State's tight end room
Gurd feels the most valuable experience in the room is the heir apparent to Stover as the team’s top tight end, Scott. Thurman’s brief flashes as a freshman will pay dividends too, he added.
“Super valuable,” Gurd said. “Gee got to play a good amount last year just as a normal H, and then some Y as well. Coming into this year now, he has almost all the playing experience, and then I'm there a little bit, and Jelani is coming up with that as well. So the two of us and then with Jelani, it's super valuable because we're the guys that are kind of looked up to in the tight end room, and we have to lay the groundwork to try to get the guys going.”
The directive from tight ends coach Keenan Bailey this offseason has been to build the “toughest unit on the team.” Doing so will take a collective effort from its players.
“We're trying to just go out there and go 100 miles per hour,” Gurd said. “We're trying to hit everyone, leave our mark on the field. You're going to mess up at times, but it's a matter of getting back up, going again, and just keep on hitting, keep on going, being the leader on the whole offense, getting the guys going.”
