Jelani Thurman is placed on a tipping point at his position.
His upside is undeniable. The No. 3 tight end in the recruiting class of 2023 per the 247Sports composite, Thurman is up to 255 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame but has all the speed, burst and agility required to be a true weapon in the passing game.
There’s a huge learning curve to playing tight end at the level expected in Columbus, however. That’s true from a development standpoint, but it’s also true in learning where to line up and what to do on each play for a position that moves around the offense as much as any.
“Playing tight end is not easy,” Ryan Day said on Thursday. “It’s certainly not easy anywhere you play, but certainly not easy at Ohio State. I’ve said this all the time, you’ve got to run routes like a receiver, you’ve got to block like an offensive lineman, you’ve got to protect like a running back. And after the quarterback, what we ask our tight ends to do, there’s a lot involved with it mentally.
“(Thurman) has run some really good routes, in particular in the red zone. He can win against man-to-man, he’s got good length, but he needs to keep coming. He’s not quite there yet, but we’re excited about where he’s going.”
Competing with two veterans in Gee Scott Jr. and Will Kacmarek for playing time, Thurman is attempting to build off an educational freshman year mostly spent riding the pines to find a role in this year’s attack.
"I feel like I've developed a lot more,” Thurman said. “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."
Despite his recruiting accolades, Thurman played just 24 snaps on offense last season, the fifth-most at tight end for Ohio State behind Cade Stover, Scott, Joe Royer and Patrick Gurd. He caught two passes for 18 yards in that time.
Thurman made his first career start in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri but played two snaps on the Buckeyes’ opening series and never saw the field again. He feels he could have earned more playing time over the course of the season if he acclimated to the team’s scheme quicker.
“Just coming in, learning the playbook, that took me a little bit longer than it should have, I feel like, from my end,” Thurman said. “So just knowing the plays and being consistent and getting your job done every play when you need to get it done. I feel like last year I didn't get it done as much as I needed to. And this year I made improvements.”
Thurman’s been willing to stay patient and keep a developmental mindset throughout his first season and approaching his second.
“Honestly, I feel like it's high school again,” Thurman said. “I wasn't always dominant in high school. It's just my last two years I sprouted and I did what I needed to do. This first year (at Ohio State) was a developmental year. The second and third year is when I, we pop out and be the hardest-fighting unit on the team. Tight ends rule the world.”
He feels playing time is earned through results produced on the field, in practice and in games.
"I feel like the best man will go out there, honestly,” Thurman said. “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."
Tight ends coach Keenan Bailey has seen clear improvement from Thurman. He referred to the Georgia native as a “pleasure to coach” and said he has a “great spirit.”
“He can bring a lot of things,” Bailey said. “We don't like that talent word, you guys know that by now. Talent is God-given. But I think the biggest change in Jelani from last year till now is he's not learning as much, he's remembering. He just spent a whole year learning. Everything was new for Jelani, the plays obviously, the position, the techniques, but also how to practice, how to take hard coaching. He's not having to learn those now, he's remembering.”
A big part of Thurman’s development has been in the area of blocking. Despite his reputation as a receiving threat, he believes he’s always had the right mentality to be a good blocker. Good hand placement on his blocks to leverage defenders has been one of the top skills he's had to develop, he noted.
It also helps that he’s packed on 20 pounds of muscle since his arrival in Columbus.
“Well, I've gotten bigger, so it's gotten easier,” Thurman said. “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.”
Ohio State could very well use three tight ends in a rotation or even all together at once in the rare subpackage. If Thurman is able to reach the next level of his development and show down-to-down consistency, he'll find a role with his immense pass-catching talent.
“Jelani Thurman is someone that we need to continue to improve,” Day said. “He has the ability. He has the competitiveness. I love being around him on the field, he’s just got a great way about him. He’s learning how to continue to finish, there’s a couple clips that we showed the team the other day of him finishing down the field and playing hard.”
