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Ohio State Tight Ends, Wide Receivers Blocking Better on Perimeter in 2024
Run blocking has always been more of a team endeavor than it is given credit for.Much of the attention for a team’s success or failure on the ground is paid to the offensive line and running backs, and those positions shoulder a majority of the responsibility. But perimeter blocking is a factor, too.
Ohio State has arguably the best running back tandem in college football and its offensive line has taken clear strides through the first month of the season, but the lane-clearing efforts of the Buckeyes’ tight ends and wide receivers are another reason why they’ve vaulted from 4.2 yards per carry in 2023 to 6.6 thus far in 2024.
“(It’s) something that we work on going back to spring ball and a little bit of the offseason with the OTAs and then in fall camp, we work that,” tight end Gee Scott Jr. said on Wednesday. “We take a lot of pride in blocking on the perimeter. Anywhere we're blocking, we take pride in it. It's not a joke. And so I think when you take that mindset to practice, showing up on Saturdays and doing that is just a result of what you're gonna get (in practice).”
Better blocking was a major point of emphasis for Scott and the tight ends this offseason. Pro Football Focus grades should always be taken with a boulder of salt, but starter Cade Stover ranked 35th on the team with a run-blocking grade of 54.4 in 2023, while Scott was 43rd at 41.1 as his backup.
Ohio State brought in a blocking-minded Will Kacmarek from the transfer portal at the position. Scott’s taken a jump both qualitatively from this writer’s viewpoint – it’s subjective but so are PFF scores, there just aren’t many metrics to judge an individual’s blocking – and in his run-blocking grade, going up to 55.6. Kacmarek is at 67.6 while Jelani Thurman, the third tight end on the Buckeyes’ depth chart, grades highest in the room and third on the team at 79.9. Bennett Christian has also worked in and has a run-blocking grade of 68.3.
“I think it starts from the top down, from Coach Day emphasizing that this team's going to be built on toughness,” Scott said. “That's where it starts. And from the beginning of time all the way back to spring ball and summer and camp, the emphasis of this team has been toughness. And so that's what we're going to show up every day and do is be tough. And I think we've done a great job of doing so.”
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