Being a tight end at Ohio State has not been an overwhelmingly glamorous job.
Rarely does Ryan Day design plays to feed his big receivers and rarely does Justin Fields target them. The highest two tight ends on the reception chart last season were Jeremy Ruckert and Luke Farrell, who combined to catch just 21 passes in 2019.
However, the times may be changing for Day and company. In Saturday’s 38-25 win over Penn State, Buckeye tight ends accounted for six receptions, 54 yards of offense, and two touchdowns. Ruckert led the pack, catching two touchdown passes, including a designed lob to him in the end zone.
Day, Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, and Ruckert himself all agreed: establishing the run game early was what opened up the tight ends through the air.
“We ran the ball really well today so it opened up a lot of things out wide, especially in the play-action,” Ruckert said following the Penn State game. “Just our tight end room being so accountable and just relying on each other. It wasn’t just me, it was me and Jake [Hausmann] being there and selling the run, and I was just lucky enough to get out there and make a play.”
Ohio State ended up rushing 45 times for 208 yards on Saturday night, a much-needed addition to help round out the offense. A large part of that rushing attack comes from the tight ends’ work blocking in the trenches.
Combine that with the threat of a pass-catching tight end on the field, and the defense is placed in a lose-lose situation. With the weapons Ohio State uses spreads the field at all times, any yardage from Ruckert and his counterparts is a bonus.
Day has experimented with using two-tight end sets dating back to last season. Mixing combinations of Farrell, Ruckert, and Hausmann gives the Buckeye offense an extra look, Wilson said.
“It’s nice to play small and run the ball, and it’s nice to go big and throw the ball, because to me, that’s when you have balance,” Wilson said Tuesday. “You don’t get zeroed in.”
The head coach of the Buckeyes agreed with his coordinator, saying he tries to mix up looks to keep offenses guessing. It comes down to what works and what doesn’t. The ability of the tight end room to bring multiple looks to the table certainly helps its case to be on the field as much as possible.
“It’s something that we look at and try to figure out what gives us the best opportunity to move the ball,” Day said. “It could be with two tight ends; it could be with three receivers. It kinda changes week in and week out. I think having Ruckert and Luke on the field-- it’s two guys who have played a lot of football for us-- really helps us.”
The pair of experienced tight ends have joked about begging for more plays designed for them, but their involvement in the offense has legitimately stepped up a notch from seasons past.
Ruckert already has five catches this season; Farrell has two and has been a crucial part of the run game and in pass protection, something that Wilson said makes the senior invaluable to Ohio State’s play-action work.
The double tight end look is not a new concept by any means. For Ohio State, it’s simply a way of maximizing talent on the ground and through the air.
Wilson said having experienced tight ends (and receivers!) who are willing to lay down a physical block places an emphasis on raising the level of the offense in more ways than just catching passes.
“I think the more we keep having balance-- that’s why we keep challenging our young receivers to continue to embrace the knowledge of not just being a great receiver, but playing without the ball, and playing through your brother and being a great blocker-- the more our guys buy into that, the more diversity we get, the more guys get touches, the more guys get on the field, the harder it is to defend someone,” Wilson said.
It has been quite hard to defend Ohio State this season. The tight end room plays no small part in setting that standard.
