Gee Scott working out at TE: ‘He has the right frame’

COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Even as a freshman in 2020, Gee Scott Jr.’s size at wide receiver jumped off the practice field.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds entering his second spring with Ohio State, head coach Ryan Day said Friday that Scott is actually closer to 215, and “fighting every day” to stay around that number.

That size, perhaps in conjunction with the stacked talent in the wide receiver room, helped prompt Scott to approach the coaching staff about a move to tight end.

“Gee kind of came to us and thought about having a conversation about possibly doing some tight end stuff. We thought it was a great idea," Day said. "He’s a very mature young man who sees a future in that for him.”

Scott, the No. 11 wideout in the class of 2020, is still listed as a wide receiver on the team’s latest roster. However, during Ohio State’s spring practice on Friday, Scott drilled with assistant coach Kevin Wilson’s tight end unit.

In the case of recent linebacker-turned-tight end Cade Stover, it was Day that brought the idea to his player’s attention. In this case though, Day said it was the other way around.

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“It’s so cool when you see somebody bring it to you, as opposed to a coach bringing it to a player,” Day said.

Still, Scott would be an undersized tight end at his current weight, with players like Jeremy Ruckert weighing in at 252 pounds, and Stover at 255. However, Day said Scott told him that he’s just “a few Big Macs” away from reaching the 225-mark in a heartbeat.

Day said upon evaluation, the coaching staff believes Scott’s growth potential suits the bigger position.

“We look at the way they’re built, certainly their knee size, the size of their legs is usually a pretty good indication of how much weight they can put on and how much they can handle,” Day said. “But he was doing everything he could to stay at 215.”

The receiving skills are already there for Scott, who was a top 60 overall recruit last year out of Bellevue, Washington, but the blocking technique would still be something of a work in progress.

That’s not exactly new for recent successful tight ends in the program though, as Ruckert himself was a wide receiver in high school before making the position switch at Ohio State.

“He thinks that Kevin Wilson can really teach him how to block, and he wants to do it,” Day said. “So we’re very, very excited about it, we think it’s a huge opportunity for him, and excited about where it’s gonna go.”

Day sounds gung-ho about the move at present, but it’s still no guarantee that Scott winds up at tight end by the time the season starts.

“Whether we go full time with it or not, we’ll see, but he’s got the right idea on this thing,” Day said. “He has the right frame, he’s very, very athletic.”