Spread gives Stoneburner chance to shine
April, 26, 2012
By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com
AP Photo/Amy Sancetta
Ohio State tight end Jake Stoneburner had seven touchdowns last season -- on 14 catches.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jake Stoneburner had one of the strangest stat lines in all of college football last season.
It said as much about his potential as a tight end as it did about Ohio State's inability to maximize that potential in an offense that could kindly be described as pass averse.
"It got kind of crazy," Stoneburner told ESPN.com. "Every time I had a catch, I'd score. It's weird. Only 14 catches and seven touchdowns, but I'll take seven touchdowns any day."
The 50 percent touchdown ratio is mind-boggling when you consider Stoneburner's 14 total receptions tied for the team lead.
Stoneburner set the tone for an odd season with four receptions, three of which went for touchdowns, in Ohio State's season-opening victory against Akron. He recorded four catches the following week against Toledo, three of which amazingly didn't wind up in the end zone.
Then he went catch-less for two games. He recorded two receptions for eight yards in the Big Ten opener against Michigan State. The following week, his only reception, a 32-yarder, went for a touchdown at Nebraska.
Stoneburner finished the season with three one-catch, one-touchdown performances.
"I guess you could say I had a knack for getting in the end zone," he said, "but we also didn't really throw it that much."
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