Cade Stover looked like a linebacker in the Rose Bowl.
He was one once: the No. 6 outside linebacker in the 2019 class, a four-star with loads of potential along with Tommy Eichenberg before he moved to tight end, finding a spot on offense.
That was before Ohio State needed him back at his original position, practicing in the middle of the defense two or three times before the Michigan game for two or three goal-line snaps, and for the three weeks leading up to the final game of the season against Utah in Pasadena, California to play a prominent role.
But Stover had to make sure he was ready.
The redshirt sophomore lined up behind Eichenberg during warm ups, hitting padded linebackers coach Al Washington like the rest of the room always did.
When his fellow linebackers jogged off toward the locker room, Stover took one more drill than the others, showing the power and the speed that his teammates did.
He got the gist. He just needed one extra to show he belonged.
He then jogged off the field: a full-fledged linebacker, the one Ohio State originally recruited him to be.
When it came to actual game time, Stover could not describe how good it felt, the amount of emotion pumped into each of his six tackles from the middle.
Stover jogged off with a decision to make. He didn’t know whether he was a tight end or a linebacker. That decision comes later, as he prepares for his fourth season with the Buckeyes. He couldn’t deny, though, years of pent-up emotion all leading to aggressiveness and physicality with each hit made.
It felt right.
“No, I don’t think I will ever let this feeling go,” Stover said after the game. “I have to watch the film again, but it felt good.”
Kevin Wilson saw it too.
He saw a different energy in the redshirt sophomore, understanding the defensive looks because of his experience playing offense, leading to increased anticipation.
“He’s a better linebacker after a little time over here now, FYI,” Wilson said. “He understood formations, he understood what tight ends were doing. He was playing faster. He was playing faster in practice because actually playing offense, I think playing offense actually made him play better defense.
Wilson saw a more loose and more confident Stover, a player with a lot more learning to do, but that is a “different animal” in the last month than he had been since he had been at Ohio State.
As Stover continues his maturation process, all the Ohio State offensive coordinator wants is what’s best for him.
“I said, ‘I don't want to hear what's best for the team because what's best for the team sometimes is a bunch of crap when you're a player,’” Wilson said. “I said ‘What's best for you? If you don't want to go over to the defense, we'll stay here, you'll keep playing. You'll have a good opportunity.’”
Stover’s decision really comes down to one thing: where will he make the most impact?
At linebacker, it will be a much fuller room in 2022, bringing back Eichenberg, Steele Chambers, Cody Simon, Teradja Mitchell and Palaie Gaoteote IV, while bringing in CJ Hicks and Gabe Powers from the latest recruiting class and former Arizona State running back-turned-linebacker DeaMonte Trayanum through the transfer portal.
At tight end, the starting spot seems to be up for grabs with Jeremy Ruckert off to the next level, with Gee Scott Jr., Joe Royer, Sam Hart and, possibly, Mitch Rossi returning along with the arrival of Bennett Christian in the latest recruiting class.
Stover says he’ll definitely bounce the decision around a bit, deciding on which path to stay on in the spring.
“Wherever I best fit, wherever I’m utilized the most is where I’ll end up,” he said.
But it’s not just about his two remaining years of eligibility. It’s a long-term decision.
It’s not one Stover will turn back from, Wilson said, hindering his development to get to the next level, something he sees in the redshirt sophomore.
“We have to look long term at what’s best for Cade’s future playing football past here,” Wilson said. “Does he have the chance to be an NFL player as a tight end? does he have the chance to be in the NFL as a linebacker? Because he’s got enough skill to be that.
“In my eyes, I see the tight end and I believe he’s going to be an outstanding tight end. But I think our defensive guys see the same deal.”
Stover has a decision to make. To him, the decision is simple, really.
He’s going to go where he would best help Ohio State not let the Michigan game loss happen again.
It didn’t matter whether he was on offense or defense. Stover admits Ohio State was outplayed on that Saturday in Ann Arbor.
“The last Team Up North game, we got it handed to us,” Stover said. “We got physically manhandled in that game. We might lose a game, but we’re not going to get out-toughed, we’re not going to get outworked.”
But as he talked about the Rose Bowl, as he talked about the experience in the middle of the defense with Eichenberg, Stover couldn’t help but smile.
He was so happy.
He may have found his new home.
“I got to play with all of my emotions, tore my heart out and played like that,” Stover said. “And it just felt good.”
