Ohio State Football: Young tight ends must step up

There are talented tight ends in the Ohio State football program, but no experienced backup to Marcus Baugh.

There are questions concerning the Ohio State football program entering fall camp that must be addressed if the Buckeyes are to once again have a dynamic offense. Two have been discussed often but another situation may be just as important.

Many wonder how the right side of the offensive line will perform, and will the downfield passing game be much improved over last season? However, there is something that concerns me just as much or more. How will the young tight ends perform?

That didn’t appear to be an issue in the spring as sophomore A.J. Alexander was coming on strong. Senior Marcus Baugh was on the mend from an injury but would be fine by fall camp so the Buckeyes would have a strong one-two punch at the position.

Then Alexander suffered a season ending injury this summer and Baugh reportedly was wearing a walking boot at Friday Night Lights. Now the depth at tight end should be a major concern.

Baugh’s injury may have been just a mild sprain and he was wearing the boot as a precaution. But what if it will be a lingering situation, or if he were to suffer another injury during the season? Who would step in and replace him?

One possibility is sophomore Rashod Berry who has now been moved back to the offensive side of the ball. He was a tight end his true freshman season and was red-shirted. Berry played defensive end last year but he was a terrific tight end in high school.

He is now in his third year of coach Mick’s conditioning program so you would expect Berry to have the strength to at least be an effective run blocker. That’s extremely important for a tight end in Urban Meyer’s offense.

Other players who could be part of the mix were members of the 2016 Ohio State recruiting class. All three were ranked among the top 11 tight ends in the country in the 247Sports Composite.

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Each of the three red-shirted last season but there were positive reports about Farrell’s progress in the spring. Hausman appears to be lagging behind some, and with the lack of info on Hawkins, I’m beginning to think he may be in the witness protection program.

At least one of these young players, or possibly two, must step up or the Ohio State offense may not click on all cylinders this season. You only need to look back to the 2014 season to see how important having depth at the position can be.

Jeff Heuerman battled a nagging injury much of the season but Nick Vannett was there to help carry the load. Without Vannett’s contributions the Buckeyes probably wouldn’t have had their magical run to the national title.

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Vannett was a seasoned fourth year junior so it may take a couple of these players to fill the role he played in 2014. If at least two of the young tight ends will make the progress needed to be effective backups to Marcus Baugh, the Buckeyes may have another dynamic offense. If not, the prospect of that happening doesn’t seem as bright.

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