Like most things at Ohio State, tight end recruiting- and more generally the tight end position are in line for some changes under Urban Meyer.
During the Tressel era, the tight end became somewhat of a running joke in Columbus due to their perpetual lack of involvement in the offense (with a few notable exceptions).
For the record, I blame Bollman- but that is another story that I have already beat into the ground.
In contrast to the previous regime, I expect the tight ends to play a major role in the offense moving forward.
Urban Meyer always talks about two players on the current team when asked about the offense.
Clearly, Braxton Miller is number one- but senior tight end Jake Stoneburner is a close number two.
If that doesn’t indicate a brighter future for the position, I don’t know what would.
Accordingly, the Buckeyes are targeting some of the top tight ends in the country in the 2013 class to take advantage of the increased role they will have in Columbus.
Here is a run down of the players on Ohio State’s board.
First up is Florida tight end Mike Heuerman (6’4″ 220).
You may recognize the last name. That’s because it also belongs to his brother, current Buckeye tight end Jeff Heuerman.
That connection may give Ohio State an advantage, but with offers from Auburn, Florida State, LSU, Miami (FL), and Notre Dame among many others, there will be plenty of competition.
The thing that I like most about the younger Heuerman is the versatility he brings on offense (junior highlights). Mike is a likely candidate to play H-Back, which is a hybrid between a tight end and fullback.
H-Backs motion all over the place pre-snap, lead block from the backfield, and split out wide to create mismatches with slower linebackers or smaller cornerbacks.
You may recall that Stan White Jr. filled this role in the offense during the highly successful ’05 and ’06 seasons.
During the Meyer regime, I expect the H-Back to eventually replace a pure fullback like Zach Boren in the offense- and I think Mike Heuerman might be Meyer’s first target to fill that role.
H-Back or just plain tight end, Heuerman would be a great addition to the class.
Assuming that Heuerman will join his brother in Columbus, I expect the Buckeyes to take one more player here in 2013.
The top target is Pennsylvania’s Adam Breneman (6’5″ 220), who is considered by many to be the number one tight end in the country (junior highlights).
Breneman will be announcing his college decision this Friday between Penn State, Ohio State, Maryland and Notre Dame.
Penn State is the clear favorite and it would be quite the surprise if he announced he was going anywhere else.
The real question is, will Breneman becoming an early Penn State verbal actually help Ohio State’s chances?
That is a joke, but it would be humorous if the ‘Penn State verbals flipping to Ohio State’ trend that was a huge part of Urban Meyer’s finish in the ’12 class continued this year.
Either way, Meyer loves this position in his offense and Brenneman is the best out there. Regardless of the announcement on Friday, the Buckeyes will continue recruiting until signing day.
The other player on the board with an offer is North Carolina tight end Josh McNeil (6’5 235).
Within the past several days, McNeil has received offers from Georgia, Clemson, Ole Miss and Miami (FL).
After an early commitment and then de-commitment from ECU, this recruitment is picking up steam and McNeil is quickly becoming one of the top tight end targets in the south.
All of this after only recently switching from playing basketball to football. I am sure ECU is sad that other programs took notice of their diamond in the rough.
McNeil attends the same high school as 2012 Buckeye commitment Jamal Marcus, so once again it is safe to assume that connection gives Ohio State an advantage.
McNeil plans to visit Columbus multiple times in the coming months and you have to like Ohio State’s chances based on those two things.
Finally, California tight end Marcus Baugh (6’4″ 225) is also on the radar. He expects an offer from the Buckeyes soon and plans to visit Columbus in the coming months.
Either of those things happening would obviously increase his chances of being a Buckeye, but right now those chances seem slim.
I see Baugh as another candidate to play H-Back in Meyer’s offense if things get to that point.
That is all the players on the board right now, but another thing to consider here is the linebackers with the ability to play H-Back or tight end.
Linebackers like Josh Perry (2012), Alex Anzalone and Matt Rolin are prime candidates to make that transition at some point if their cards fall that way for whatever reason.
Interestingly enough, Stan White Jr. came to Columbus as a linebacker before making his transition to H-Back.
Putting it all together, I would be surprised if Heuerman wasn’t a Buckeye, and I see Breneman and McNeil competing for the second spot.
Given that Breneman will likely commit to Penn State this week, right now I see McNeil as the second player.
If Breneman changes his mind later the staff would likely still take him, even if that means three TEs in the class- Breneman is that good.
The linebackers I mentioned are being looked at primarily on defense right now, but it doesn’t hurt to have that additional flexibility.
When it comes to Urban Meyer, flexibility is the name of the game.
I am excited to see the increased role of the tight end in the offense and the introduction of the highly versatile H-Back.
Most exciting of all, Meyer is clearly targeting outstanding players that will excel in these positions in his offense.
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