Cade Stover earns Big Ten Tight End of the Year honors
COLUMBUS — A day after being named a finalist for the John Mackey Award — given to the top tight end in college football — Cade Stover earned the Big Ten’s Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year award Wednesday.
Stover was also recognized by the media as a first-team All-Big Ten selection. The two-time Buckeyes captain returned for a fifth season and delivered the best year of his career in 2023.
He improved upon his breakout 2022 campaign, which saw him grab 36 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns. This time around, the Mansfield, Ohio, native piled up 41 catches, 576 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 11 regular season appearances.
He’s second on the team in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, only behind superstar Marvin Harrison Jr.
During each of Ohio State’s first six games against FBS competition this season, Stover logged at least two receptions and 50 receiving yards. He accounted for four or more catches in seven regular season games. He set a single-game career high with seven grabs at Notre Dame in Week 4 and then matched that total in the first half against Michigan State in Week 11.
Stover was on a mission after suffering an early exit from the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. He shed close to 10 pounds and ran with the skill players this offseason.
When all was said and done, he morphed into one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the sport, hence why he was added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list earlier this season.
“I am super proud of how he’s prepared,” first-year Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey said of Stover in October. “I go back to the offseason and the spring ball and summer and all the work he put in. I’m happy that it’s showing up on Saturdays — that you get to see the dedication that he put in into his craft.
“So the stats will take care of themselves. But we’re going to keep working and see where we’re at at the end of the year.”
Stover reeled in 41 of his 51 targets in the regular season, recording a reception percentage of 80.4%. That mark is 6.9% higher than the one he posted last year, and it’s also tied for seventh best among all tight ends with at least 30 targets this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Stover’s importance in the Buckeyes’ blocking department can’t be understated, either. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day never forgets to mention that when discussing his veteran tight end.
“He’s a great captain, and he’s a weapon for us,” Day said earlier this season, “both in the run game and in the pass game.”
