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TE Will Kacmarek (Official Thread)

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Ohio State Tight End Will Kacmarek Says He “Enjoys Blocking,” Worked with Former Ohio State Wideout Sam Wiglusz on Route Running​

By Garrick Hodge on August 22, 2024 at 1:05 pm @garrick_hodge
Will Kacmarek

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Ohio State received near-universal praise from national critics for its additions via the transfer portal in the offseason.
There were big-splash additions highlighted by Caleb Downs, Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins.
But one of the more underrated moves was securing a blocking-first tight end from Ohio University: Will Kacmarek.
“Will’s doing great,” Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey said Tuesday. “He came in being a blue-collar guy. We watched everyone out there who was in the portal, and he was he was a guy who showed toughness in everything he did. So he was already a tough guy, kind of took pride in blocking. I think the biggest thing that he got better at is route running. It’s been cool to watch.”

In two years as a starter for the Bobcats, Kacmarek caught a combined 42 passes for 507 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, he recorded 22 receptions, 243 yards and two touchdowns. Kacmarek received Pro Football Focus grades of 67.2 as a run blocker and 65.8 as a pass blocker in 2023.
“I enjoy blocking, I like getting out in the open, catching routes and stuff like that,” Kacmarek said Tuesday.
Kacmarek arrived on campus in the spring and said it only took him a few practices to get adjusted to the speed of practicing against Ohio State-caliber athletes. He quickly learned having to help block Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau was only going to make him a better football player.
“The spring was a transition. I got to see all that speed and stuff,” he said. “But I caught up playing against them every day. I’m excited to see how the season is going to play out because I’m training against the best every day.”
In the offseason, Kacmarek worked on route running with former Ohio State wideout and his former teammate at Ohio, Sam Wiglusz.
“He got some techniques from the Rams and he shared them with me and stuff like that,” Kacmarek said. “We’re trying to incorporate new things and new routes.”

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Ohio State Tight End Will Kacmarek Says He “Enjoys Blocking,” Worked with Former Ohio State Wideout Sam Wiglusz on Route Running

Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek says he "enjoys blocking" and has worked with former Ohio State wideout Sam Wiglusz on his route running.
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From Underdog to Unleashed: Will Kacmarek is ready to prove himself on a national stage

After transferring from Ohio University, the tight end is poised to make a name for himself in his first year as a Buckeye.
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From Underdog to Unleashed: Will Kacmarek is ready to prove himself on a national stage​

After transferring from Ohio University, the tight end is poised to make a name for himself in his first year as a Buckeye.

When he takes the field on Saturday against Akron, tight end Will Kacmarek makes the jump from a non-Power 4 school to what many consider the top team in the country. For some, that pressure would feel overwhelming, but to Kacmarek? It’s a “dream come true.”

The senior spent three years playing at Ohio University but announced he was entering the transfer portal following the 2023 season. When the Buckeyes picked him up, it was their first transfer-portal addition in what went on to become a jackpot of an offseason for them.

The decision made sense for Kacmarek on a personal level too—he’s hoping to prove he’s good enough to play at the highest level of college football, and Ohio State should provide him plenty of opportunities to do so, given how much turnover they saw at the tight end position last year.

The Buckeyes’ star tight end, senior Cade Stover, finished his career at Ohio State in the 2023 Cotton Bowl loss at Missouri, while senior Joe Royer entered the transfer portal and will play at Cincinnati this season. That left behind Gee Scott Jr., a fifth-year senior, and redshirt freshman Jelani Thurman by way of experience, making Kacmarek’s experience all the more valuable, even though he wasn’t playing in a Power conference.

During his three seasons as a Bobcat, Kacmarek put up good numbers—he had 507 yards and two touchdowns on 42 receptions. While he’s dynamic both as a receiver and even more so as a blocker, it speaks volumes about how far he’s come that he’s a Player to Watch at Ohio State, given that, at the start of his career, he wasn’t really even a Player to Watch at Ohio.

My, how the tables have turned.

Kacmarek used spring camp as a springboard to get his sea legs at Ohio State, he transitioned quickly and was eager to face off with defenders like Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, something he credits with improving his game. Then he began to fine-tune his route running.

He knew he had work to do to catch up to his teammates, and he didn’t shy away from putting in the effort to do so. He’s as versatile as the role requires him to be on a team chasing a National Championship, and his coaches—both head coach Ryan Day and position coach Keenan Bailey—have taken notice.

Now, as the season approaches, Kacmarek is drawing comparisons to Stover himself.
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  • On how he assesses the tight ends: "I thought they, as a group, blocked well. I think we had two champions there. There's gotta be more production out of the room going forward. ... Couple of really good effort clips, in particular Will Kacmarek blocking his man 7 yards down the field and pancaking him."

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Presser Bullets: Ryan Day Says Donovan Jackson and Cody Simon “Day-To-Day” After Missing Week 1, Wants to See More Consistency Despite Some “Good Snaps” in Running Game

Ryan Day says Cody Simon and Donovan Jackson are "day-to-day" after missing Ohio State's Week 1 game against Akron and that Ohio State's running game needs more consistency.
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