Ryan Day shares pride in overall development of Cade Stover as tight end
Cade Stover has quickly emerged as one of the Big Ten’s top tight ends this season. The Ohio State Buckeyes are calling his number more and more, which is a source of pride for head coach Ryan Day.
Day discussed Stovers’ development after his four-catch, two-touchdown performance against Wisconsin on Saturday.
“He’s a tough player and I’m proud of what Cade is becoming for this offense,” Day said. “He deserves everything he’s getting, he’s earning it all. He’s a weapon for us in the pass game, as you can see, he’s strong, he’s powerful, but he’s also getting after people in the run game.”
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The draft-eligible tight end now has 12 catches on the season, a high mark coming from the tight end position which hasn’t been very prolific at Ohio State. With 188 total receiving yards, Stover ranks third on the team going into Week 5.
Day described Stovers’ versatility as the quality NFL scouts look for most in tight end prospects.
“You can see that he can split out, he can come back into the backfield, he can line up as a tight end, he gets big in some of the bigger personnels,” Day said. “Anytime you have someone who can do that, that’s what the NFL is looking for. That’s what we’re all looking for, versatile players that can do multiple things.”
A member of the 2019 signing class, Stover was a four-star linebacker prospect. He was the No. 118 recruit in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, when he inked with the home state program.
Stroud-Stover connection is key to Day, Buckeyes offense
Cade Stover has become CJ Stroud‘s favorite tight end target through the first third of the season. Injuries within the Buckeyes receiving corps have indirectly turned Stover into one of their most reliable pass catchers this season.
The redshirt junior has developed his chemistry with Stroud for several years, which Ryan Day believes will be key for the Buckeyes down the stretch.
“I think it is very important,” Day said of Stover and Stroud’s chemistry last week. “Cade is a big target, strong hands… I think over time you have to build confidence on both sides of the receiving end, of the throwing end, and I think that’s happened. Now, it’s happening in real-time in games. So that’s important as we move forward because that’s something that can be a huge weapon for us as we head into conference play.”
This weekend, the Buckeyes take on Rutgers at 3:30 p.m. ET. Stover didn’t have any catches in last year’s 39-point win over the Scarlet Knights. However, he’s likely to make his impact felt this Saturday.
On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.