COLUMBUS — The texts were flying fast and furious across north central Ohio on Saturday night.
“Did you see what Stover’s doing?”
“Stover got his first TD.”
“Stover got a 2nd touchdown.”
While third-ranked Ohio State was crushing Wisconsin 52-21 in the Big Ten opener, a national television audience was being introduced to Richland County’s favorite son, Buckeye tight end Cade Stover.
The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder caught four passes for 51 yards, including the first two touchdowns of his career to fuel OSU’s 21-0 first-quarter lead.
“I’m super excited to be part of something special like this, and those balls haven’t gone my way so I was happy,” Stover said. “There are a lot of things that went into that – a lot of long nights going into something so small, so special for me. I’m just really happy to help the team.”
He also threw a key block on a touchdown run, absorbed a couple of brutal hits that led to him landing awkwardly multiple times, and yet displayed the toughness that made him Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2018, the first one from this region.
“I was concerned. That was a tough hit, but he’s a tough player,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I’m proud of what Cade is becoming for this offense. He deserves everything he’s getting. He’s earning it all.”
Stover said he feels close to Day, too.
“He’s one of the main reasons why I stuck around this place as long as I did,” Stover said. “That’s a special dude. That’s someone I’d lay my neck on the line for any day.”
Throughout the national telecast, broadcasters Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit repeatedly referred to Stover’s upbringing on a Richland County farm. A number of photos showed him donning jeans and tossing hay bails while working on the family homestead.
The term country strong was used in reference to Stover, and its multi-layered meaning is appropriately applied to the Lexington graduate, mentally and physically.
“He’s a weapon for us in the pass game as you can see,” Day said. “He’s strong, powerful. Does a good job in the run game, does a good job in the protections. He can split out. He can come back into the backfield. He can line up as a tight end. He gets big in some of the bigger personnel (packages).
“Anytime you have somebody that can do that, that’s what the NFL’s looking for, that’s what we’re all looking for, those versatile players that can do multiple things. He’s showing he can do that. He’s become a weapon for us.”
Elite tight ends have been few and far between at Ohio State.
Wes Fesler was a three-time All-American in 1928, 1929 and 1930. Jan White was an All-American as a member of the Super Sophs that won the 1968 national championship. John Frank carved out a fine career in the NFL with the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers after a sterling resume at Ohio State in the 1980s. Rickey Dudley was a first-round NFL draft pick after the 1995 season.
No one is saying Stover is about to join that elite group. After all, he never played the position in high school and has been moved around like a chess piece at Ohio State, playing linebacker, defensive end, linebacker, tight end, linebacker and tight end in his four years on campus.
But now he’s earning attention at a spot that has long been a virtual dead position for the Buckeyes. He’s also a team captain, and has a kindred spirit in quarterback C.J. Stroud.
“Cade is definitely a Swiss Army Knife. He can run. He can block. He can really do anything. It’s just amazing to see his work pay off,” Stroud said. “(Cade) was one of the first people to take me under his wing when I first got to school.
“He’s a better person than he is a football player. I’m really proud of him.”
Stover noted that he and Stroud have formed a relationship despite their different backgrounds. Stroud, a Heisman finalist last year, graduated from Rancho Cucamonga High School in Southern California.
“We come from different sides of the world, but we have the same mindset on everything,” Stover said. “And that’s a tough kid. That’s a dude that 20 years from now, if he needs something, the phone is getting picked up and I’m going to get it done, whatever he needs. That’s just kind of the bond we’ve created here.”
The connection is making its way to the field, too. Through four games Stover has 12 catches for 188 yards (15.7 yards per catch) and 2 TDs.
For comparison’s sake, look at the player Stover is replacing. A year ago, five-star recruit Jeremy Ruckert completed his senior campaign with the biggest season of his four-year stay in Columbus. Ruckert played 11 games and caught 26 passes for 309 yards (11.9 avg.) and 3 TDs. Despite those modest numbers, Ruckert was taken as a third-round draft pick by the New York Jets.
Should Stover continue on his current pace, he would eclipse Ruckert’s statistics from last season after the ninth game of the year. Stroud noted Stover’s numbers could be even better.
“I owed him for last week. I missed him on one (touchdown pass) today, so I’m kind of irritated, but he got two (TDs),” Stroud said. “I think Cade is going to continue to be great. I’m super happy for him, super excited for him.”
It will be interesting to see how Stover develops in an offense that has long highlighted its receivers, almost exclusively, in the passing game. That seemed to be what Wisconsin and its usually sturdy defense was expecting at Ohio Stadium.
But the Badgers were underprepared and overwhelmed by what they experienced.
“It’s another step in the right direction for us,” Stover said of the blowout. “(Wisconsin is) a prideful, tough program. That’s what they’re known for.
“For us to do that out there and really to force our will on those guys like that, we’re stepping in the right direction every single week – every single day. So I’m really excited.”
