TE Will Kacmarek (National Champion)

[1926Buckeyes]

Um, what? Elite? He whiffed the first block and was lucky the guy slipped. Then, he turned all the way around so that he couldn’t even see where the guy was, was lucky to be able to make contact again and whiffed the block again, although not quite as badly as the first one. Wtf? We’re lucky the guy slipped or he would’ve put Sayin in the hospital.

I thought Will knocked him off balance and then spun to get depth. Surprised they had him blocking one of the best edges 1on1.

 

[Elephant]

Thought it was a damn good rep for Will

 

[Jaxbuck]

Why on Woody’s green astroturfed earth were they asking him to make that block 1 on 1?

That’s no bueno. Very lucky.

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[brodybuck21]

 

[Bestbuck36]

I'm sure Will is going to be fired up Saturday. Nothing to prove hoss just keep doing what you're doing.

 

[ScriptOhio]

How Will Kacmarek Went from Two-Star Recruit to Ohio Bobcat to Impact Player at Ohio State

A two-star recruit out of high school, Will Kacmarek parlayed his lone FBS offer into success for the Ohio Bobcats and has now become a key piece of Ohio State’s offense.

www.elevenwarriors.com

How Will Kacmarek Went from Two-Star Recruit to Ohio Bobcat to Impact Player at Ohio State​

Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey knew he was going out on a limb when he told Ryan Day in December 2023 that he thought Will Kacmarek was the best tight end in the transfer portal.

Kacmarek wasn’t even a full-time starter at Ohio University, and there’s typically a big talent disparity between the Buckeyes and the Bobcats. One of Ohio’s top players the previous season was Sam Wiglusz, a former Ohio State walk-on wide receiver who rarely played for the Buckeyes.

But Bailey felt Kacmarek was exactly what the Buckeyes needed as they looked for a tough, gritty and experienced tight end to help lead their room following the departure of Cade Stover. And it didn’t take long for Day to agree with him once he turned on Kacmarek’s film.

“The initial knee-jerk (reaction) was ‘Hold on, you gotta go find the best tight end in the country to come replace Cade Stover, who was a Mackey finalist, and you're taking a kid from the MAC who doesn't even start?’ And I was like, ‘Damn right,’” Bailey said. “After we watched the tape, he was like ‘Holy cow, we definitely want this kid.’ But just testing to see if I was convicted in him, and certainly I was. I don't think that there was even a runner-up with who I wanted in the portal.”

In a transfer class that also included Caleb Downs, Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins and Seth McLaughlin, Kacmarek arrived at Ohio State with little fanfare and was overshadowed by his higher-profile teammates during the Buckeyes’ run to a national championship last season. But Bailey says Kacmarek was quietly crucial to the team’s success in 2024, especially during its College Football Playoff run.

“You go back to our playoff run and just pull like the biggest plays, I bet you 89 was at the point of attack,” Bailey told Eleven Warriors. “It was not a coincidence, the first play of the Tennessee game, we threw a quick screen to our boundary behind Kaz … if you pull up our biggest plays of that run, like stick to the Rose bowl, Kaz was blocking on JJ's touchdown post, he was blocking Jordan Burch or whoever their best pass-rusher was. And he didn't get any of those recognitions, but he did the same thing he did against Texas, he blocked their best D-ends.”

Two games into his second season as a Buckeye, Kacmarek is starting to get the recognition Bailey’s long felt he deserved. Dubbed by Bailey as the “best blocking tight end in the country,” Kacmarek got lots of social media love for his blocking in Ohio State’s season-opening win over Texas, particularly his pass-protection effort against top Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons on Julian Sayin’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate.


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Just sayin': Great article on Will Kacmarek.