Ohio State football: It’s time to use Jeremey Ruckert

The Ohio State football team always does an excellent job of recruiting every position on the field. They have a former number two tight end recruit who should see the ball more often this season.

Jeremy Ruckert hasn’t been a large focal point of the Ohio State pass offense so far in his career. In fact, in his two years in the program, he only has 15 catches and four touchdowns. He just hasn’t gotten the targets that a receiving threat like him should get.

A large part of that is the fact that the Buckeyes have had such good wide receivers. It’s hard to take away targets from guys like Chris Olave and K.J. Hill because they were so solid. This year though, only Olave and Garrett Wilson return from the receiving corp.

That leaves an opportunity open for Ruckert to get more balls thrown his way. He was the number two tight end in the country for the class of 2018 as a four-star recruit. He clearly has talent and has shown flashes of that talent in his first two seasons.

Ohio State doesn’t typically feature the tight end talent in the offensive gameplan. Most of the passing targets go to receivers or running backs. That could change this season because of the lack of experience in both position groups. Ryan Day should adapt his offense to give Ruckert more touches.

Getting Ruckert more touches diversifies the offense. It also helps recruit future tight ends who might want to join the Buckeyes in future classes. Right now, all they have committed in terms of tight ends for future classes is three-star Sam Hart for the class of 2021.

Ohio State has done a really good job of accumulating talent since Day took over. Now they have to make sure the gameplan can utilize that talent. I would expect Ruckert to have at least 30 catches this season and be an even bigger red zone threat than he was a year ago.