Ohio State Football: Will Cade Stover stay at linebacker?

To address Ohio State football’s short-handed linebacker unit, Cade Stover relocated from the tight end room to linebacker ahead of the Rose Bowl game. In his linebacker debut, Stover totaled six tackles in his 46 snaps — which was substantially more than the year-long linebackers Teradja Mitchell (13) and Palaie Gaoteote (11).

Similar to Steele Chambers, Stover was able to transition to a new position and perform well quite quickly. The former four-star recruit was a linebacker prospect coming out of high school and was a part of the linebacker corps his freshman season. Going into the 2020 season, Stover made the move to tight end, but now he could be right back where he started his career.

At times, Stover truly flashed and showed his innate ability on the defensive side of the ball. The Ohio native made several plays demonstrating the ability to make quick decisions and attack while getting off blocks.

After seeing Stover play quite well at linebacker, should he stay there permanently? It is certainly a fair question, he was rarely used at tight end and was primarily a blocker. Where Stover can be best seems to be on the defensive side. He has great size at 6’4″, 255 pounds, and has great athletic ability.

While Stover may not start next season, he could be in the heavy rotation at linebacker. And who knows, the redshirt sophomore could improve vastly with a full-time move to linebacker.

Plus, OSU’s new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles will likely utilize more linebackers next season. Adding another player to the room would not be a bad idea. The Buckeyes even used some 3-3 stack packages, which Knowles’ defenses typically use.

Stover’s large frame would be ideal for this package (notice how the linebackers Chambers and Gaoteote are both lined up at edge spots). The full-time move to linebacker for Stover is in the cards and seems like a good move if it happens.

Kevin Wilson, Ohio State’s Tight End coach, stated prior to the Rose Bowl that a decision on Stover’s permanent position would not come until after the Spring semester, more than likely. When asked if he thought he would stay on defense, Stover said, “I think so”.

The Ohio State football team could have another newly-transitioned linebacker next season. After playing well in the Rose Bowl, Stover’s permanent move to the defense makes sense and should happen.