Ohio State Football: The ball should be thrown to tight ends this season
There are talented tight ends on this year’s Ohio State football team so will this be the year the ball will be thrown their direction more often?
Those of us who follows Ohio State football have wondered why the tight ends haven’t been utilized in the passing game more often the last few years. Yeah, they have been used some, but often they were just relied upon to block.
Will that change this season? With the talent at the position it should.
The Buckeyes have tight ends on the roster this year ready to make an impact so why not throw the ball in their direction?
First let’s take a look at the presumed starter.
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Rashod Berry is 6-4 259 pounds and one of the most athletic players on the team. Not only is he a good blocker but he has proven he will catch the football the few times it’s been thrown his way.
Luke Farrell continues to improve and is now in the mix for the starting position. He was a top ten tight end in the 2016 recruiting class, and at 6-6. 250 pounds he will be a nice target for quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
Jake Hausmann is 6-4, 295 pounds and was the No. 4 TE in the 2016 class. It took some time for Hausmann to get rolling, but from everything I have read he is much improved.
Now for “The Ringer”.
Jeremy Ruckert is listed at 6-5, 240 pounds. That seems a little small for a tight end who will only see playing time at Ohio State if he can block, right?
Possibly an exception will be made for this guy.
Ruckert was the No. 2 ranked TE in the 2018 recruiting class for a reason, he can pluck the ball out of the air with the best. Ruckert has impressed everyone in his short time at Ohio State and recently lost his black stripe, which means he can now battle for playing time.
Next. Interesting group of freshmen in this unit. dark
I know the running back and receiver units for the Buckeyes are loaded and those players will garner most of the attention entering the season. But I think the tight ends will play a bigger role in the offense than in recent years. There is simply too much talent in the unit to just use the TE as an extra blocker.