Over/under: 30 catches for Jeremy Ruckert?

If ever there was a tight end that deserved 30-plus touches in a season, it would be Jeremy Ruckert. Unfortunately for the New York native though, he just so happens to be playing at a program where no one at his position has done so since Ben Hartsock in 2003.

With his athleticism, pass-catching skills and penchant for big plays, Ruckert would figure to be more of a fixture in the Ohio State offense after returning for a senior season, but predicting big numbers for any Buckeye tight end is never a wise venture.

Since Hartsock in ‘03, the closest any Ohio State tight end has come to hitting the 30-reception mark was Marcus Baugh, who snagged 28 passes in 2017.

Will Ruckert surpass that mark this season? That’s the topic of discussion on today’s edition of over/under, where we have broken down why Ohio State players may be able to reach certain benchmark statistics in 2021, and why they may not.

For those thinking that Ruckert would be utilized more in the Ohio State offense this season, super senior tight end Corey Rau came out and confirmed that speculation early this spring, when he said the Buckeyes will look to get him the ball “a whole lot more” this season.

Even Ruckert himself, who caught 13 passes and five touchdowns last season, said that becoming a bigger part of the passing game was “definitely a discussion” that took place between him and the coaching staff before his decision to come back.

Moreover, with long-time starting tight end Luke Farrell gone to the NFL and not much experience behind Ruckert, he may dominate the snap count at the position and see even more time than usual.

With a new starter at quarterback, and one that will not have thrown a pass at the college level until the first game of this year, it may be smart for Ryan Day to emphasize Ruckert as a go-to target or security blanket checkdown for C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller or Kyle McCord in a way that he never quite was with Justin Fields under center.

Ruckert is too great a talent to be underutilized again in the passing game this season, and even with all the weapons the Buckeyes have at wide receiver, a little more than twice his production from the COVID-shortened 2020 season doesn’t seem that unreasonable an expectation.

Those that have seen Ruckert’s talents often wonder why Ohio State would not look to take advantage of his skillset more often. Well, when you have five-star prospects and some of the nation's most established wide receivers on your roster, you don’t really need to.

With wideouts like Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson putting up the kind of numbers they did a season ago, not to mention having emerging talents like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. on deck, Ruckert almost seems like a cherry on top of the pass attack.

The weapons Ohio State has almost render Ruckert –– at least in terms of his pass-catching ability –– something of an added bonus rather than a necessity to move the ball down field.

Let’s face it, the Buckeye offense historically does not favor a prolific use of the tight end position, as much as the coaching staff may claim that could change ahead of each new season. There is, after all, a reason that it’s been almost 20 years since a tight end caught 30 passes in a season at Ohio State.

That’s not to say that Ruckert isn’t more than fit to do so, though.

I believe Ruckert flirts with 30, but doesn’t quite make it in 2021. The most passes he has caught in a season is 14, which he did as a sophomore in 2019, and he hauled in nearly the same amount in half the games last season. That, along with several other aforementioned factors, tells me that Ruckert will get the ball more in 2021. However, there are just too many mouths to feed in the Buckeye pass attack for me to bet on Ruckert going over the 30 mark.