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Looking at tight end

Written by Duane Long | 07 June 2009

I think offensive line is the more important area but I would say it is #2 as far as need is concerned. Tight end is about Defcon 2. Ballard is a senior. I will believe Fragel will play tight end when I see it. That means 2 scholarship tight ends, one of which, Jake Stoneburner, needs to prove he can be an in-line blocker. I think the position is screaming for 2 despite the small class. We are not going to get the guys you really want. Fugeddaboutit. To see how low we have sunk with TE recruiting, look at what we did last year. It just hit me as I was writing this. We had to offer a kid who just about everyone else was only recruiting as an OL. We give other programs the business for offering kids at their preferred position rather than their best position. We dogged Illinois last year for doing it with Greene. We did the same thing with Fragel just to get him. Forget about the top kids recently from the state, nice run of tight ends in Ohio the last few years by the way, who have said no to the Buckeyes and went on to other major programs.reality check. We used a tactic that is generally considered an admission of not being able to compete. Losing Smith to Cincinnati closes the case. The kind of tight ends that end up on SportsCenter highlight films is not coming here. The tight ends who are special receivers don't want to play in this offense. That is not bad news. It is just reality. Not have a great back the way we play the game is bad news. Not having an elite receiver is bad news. Not having a human highlight film at tight end is a bit of a yawn actually. We will always go after one of the elite guys but landing one is extra. What we do with the tight ends now is what we are always going to do with the tight ends no matter who is lined up there. Our offense runs it between the tackles and throws it down the field to the wide outs. Tight end will never be more than a third option.
Think about the players who played tight end effectively here. They had several things in common. They were solid tenacious blockers and they had skills. They were not elite guys because they did not have the athleticism and speed that it takes to rate elite. They could catch the ball and run the route tree. We have a guy like that right now with Nic Dilillo. Taking these kinds of guys is a net plus for the offense.We will get almost as much out of the passing game because of the tight ends role in our pass offense, and more out of the run game because of the tight ends role in the running offense with these kinds of guys. These are the kinds of tight ends that fit our offense. It looks like Dan Schneider could be next on the Buckeyes board. I think he is a great looking player. Tenacious blocker but a natural receiver. I am concerned about his size. He does not look like he is 6-5. Looks more like 6-3. There are some other kids I like better. Brad Harrah from Marion Pleasant is a kid with a great frame, maybe eventually an offensive tackle body, but is a really good athlete right now. Great blocker and has a nasty streak. Harrah is a very good defensive end. At a MAC school he may get a look at a defensive lineman. I don't think many of those programs are going to find many more athletic bigs in their locker rooms than Harrah. Solid MAC offer list plus Indiana and Iowa State. I hope we take a look. Michael Dennis is another that I really would like to see get a good look at camp. He is a very athletic 6-7 260. He looks better right now as a defensive end. He runs great. He uses his long arms well. He plays the whistle and has a mean streak. He is just so long and lean you have to believe he is going to get alot bigger. Dennis is already at 260 as a junior in high school. You have to think 280 is just around the corner. It is a matter of deciding whether he is going to stay right there or just go on and take him down to tackle. None of these kids are going to be making national top 20 lists but they will fit into the offense nicely.
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