Toughness has been a talking point for Ohio State's tight ends all offseason.
That bore its head consistently once more as Keenan Bailey and five of the Buckeyes' tight ends met with the media on Tuesday. Bailey talked about the importance of his players running through tackles after the catch and veteran Patrick Gurd said that the unit wants to be not just the "toughest-playing" on the team, but in the country.
Jelani Thurman's talent continues popping up in conversation but consistency is still what he's working to develop. Gee Scott Jr. feels Ohio State's running game is embracing a "smash-mouth" style while Will Kacmarek and Bennett Christian both met with the media to discuss their year of development as well.
Keenan Bailey
"If you’re gonna throw us the ball at 3 yards, we got some tough dudes, so we’re not gonna be easy to bring down. We pride ourselves in that the first guy is not bringing us down. We’re gonna turn that 3 or 4-yard check down into a first down."– Keenan Bailey on his position room’s toughness
- Bailey said Jelani Thurman “can bring a lot of things” to Ohio State’s offense this season. However, he’d still like to see Thurman become more consistent from practice to practice. “But he’s definitely getting better. He’s such a pleasure to coach. He’s got such a great spirit about him. He seeks that hard coaching. It’s really refreshing.”
- Bailey said there are “a whole lot of similarities” between Ohio transfer tight end Will Kacmarek and former Ohio State tight end Cade Stover. “I’m not shying from that comparison. You’re taking a guy who prides himself in being a tough, physical blocker and teaching him how to run routes like a receiver. So, I see a lot of similarities there. … I don’t want to say it’s a copy and paste. Every guy is different. But there’s a whole lot of similarities.”
- Bailey said Gee Scott Jr. has taken leadership of the tight end room “in every way.” He added that this is “the best he’s probably felt so far in his career, he’s playing really well.”
Gee Scott Jr.
"I trust that he’s going to do his job. I feel he knows his reads, that he’s going to go through his reads and he’s going to get the ball to who he’s supposed to get it to predicated on the play and coverage we’re going against."– Gee Scott Jr. on Will Howard
- Scott said one day Jelani Thurman will look at where he’s at and be excited because he’s “talented and very gifted.”
- Scott said he likes OSU’s mindset behind its running game driven by the team’s intentions to run the ball. “We’re not just running the ball to be flashy, we want to run downhill, play smash-mouth football and impose our will on teams.”
- Scott said OSU’s defense “brings it every day” and is a consistent case of iron sharpening iron.
Will Kacmarek
“I think the springtime was definitely the transition period. I think the first couple practices, I saw the speed, and then I gradually got used to it."– Will Kacmarek on when he started to feel comfortable at Ohio State
- On his role within the offense: “Right now I see myself at the Y tight end. They move me around a lot. We get reps at a lot of positions.”
- On his growth this summer: “This offseason, this summer, I put a lot of work into my route running, my fine techniques. He's helped me a bunch on that. All the tight end coaches, wide receiver coaches, former teammates. This is something that I need to take to step up to the next level.”
- Kacmarek has often been one of the last players off the field in practice, but he feels its necessary as he transitions from Ohio to Ohio State. “Everyone's going to have to put in extra work. We don't like to call it extra work. We just call it work. … it was faster when I got here coming from the MAC. But I thought I had a smooth transition.”
- On what tight end he models his game after: “I like how George Kittle plays. I love his play style. He's nasty, he's aggressive, he's an elite route runner. I think he's just one of the best tight ends in the game right now.”
Jelani Thurman
"Just a hard-working tight end ready to learn some more. ... Just a tight end that's striving to be the best person he can be."– Jelani Thurman on what fans can expect from him in 2024
- On where he's grown this offseason: "I feel like I've developed a lot more. I feel like I took some lessons from some older guys. I feel like I soaked up all the energy and all the gems that they gave me and I feel like I put them on the field this year to make myself better."
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On the importance of consistency: "I feel like at this level, consistency is like the key factor. If you can't do it on every play and every down, you're not going to get it done. At this level at Ohio State, we need everybody to be on all 10. Everybody know their assignment, everybody doing their assignment.
So I feel like every day I work on being consistent, just knowing what I got to do, how I got to do it, why I got to do it." - On how he's improved as a blocker: "Well, I've gotten bigger, so it's gotten easier. The blocking part definitely came into play. When I'm blocking bigger guys, I'm more efficient, more consistent, as they would say, on blocking. So I feel like I've gotten better."
- On whether he feels he's destined for playing time this season: "I feel like the best man will go out there, honestly. It really doesn't matter about seniority, but Gee is getting the job done right now. He's an older guy. I'm still taking gems from him. I'm still learning things from Gee. So I feel like the spot is for who goes out there and does their job."
Patrick Gurd
"We’re trying to be the toughest-playing unit on the team, the toughest-playing unit in the country."– Gurd on Ohio State’s tight ends
- As one of the veterans in the tight end unit along with Gee Scott Jr., Gurd says he’s taken on a leadership role in the room, supporting the younger tight ends and “getting on them a little bit accountability-wise.”
- Gurd says he loves playing fullback. “It brings me back to high school days when I got to play a little bit of running back. It’s an honor to be able to have that opportunity and to be versatile in that way to bring more value to the team.”
- Asked who the “vibe guys” are in the tight end room, Gurd says Bennett Christian and Jace Middleton both bring a lot of energy.
- Gurd said Jelani Thurman has “definitely gotten a lot tougher, and I like that. He’s got a little fire in him.”
Bennett Christian
"I took the pressure off of it, because you know, I’m coming off a suspension and everyone’s like OK, we’ll see what he does. I’m not focused on that, I’m focused on playing football, what I love to do."– Bennett Christian on his approach to football this offseason and in fall camp
- Christian said he’s not focused on anything at the moment besides having fun and “running off the ball and running through someone’s face.”
- Christian said he made huge strides personally this summer with his weight lifting and his speed.
- Christian said Gee Scott Jr. and Pat Gurd have been the best leaders OSU could have asked for in the tight ends room.
- Christian said he believes Ohio State’s tight ends are the toughest unit the Buckeyes have on the team and that he “would die on that hill.”
