Ohio State Football: Putting together the all-time Jim Tressel team
By Ryan Stano
Ohio State Football All-Time Jim Tressel team, Tight End: Jake Stoneburner
Tressel rarely used the tight ends in the passing game until later in his coaching career. The best one he had didn’t fully bloom until after he was gone. Jake Stoneburner actually turned out to be a pretty useful weapon by the time his Ohio State football career was over.
Stoneburner really took off in his junior year in 2011 under Luke Fickell. In that season, he had 14 catches for 193 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was a great red-zone weapon for the Buckeyes and was a threat to catch a touchdown every time the Buckeyes went down there.
Stoneburner finished his Ohio State football career with 53 catches for 714 yards and 13 touchdowns in the four years he was there. He had a big body and I always thought he was the ideal red-zone tight end. He proved that right in his final two seasons.
After leaving the Buckeyes, Stoneburner signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent. He played in parts of five seasons for various teams before calling it quits in 2017. Had he been used to his full potential, he could have had a longer NFL career.
Still, Stoneburner was pretty good while he was an Ohio State Buckeye. Even though Tressel mostly played with two tight ends, we’re giving his team three wide receivers on offense. We take a look at receiver number one.