Wide Receiver Gee Scott Jr. Experimenting At Tight End During Ohio State’s Spring Practice
At some point this offseason, Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Gee Scott Jr. approached head coach Ryan Day, offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson and wide receiver coach Brian Hartline about a potential move to tight end.
“We thought it was a great idea,” Day said during his media availability on Friday morning. “He’s a very mature young man who sees a future in that for him. Whether we go full-time with it, we’ll see. He has the right frame. He’s very, very athletic. He thinks Kevin Wilson can really teach him how to block and he wants to do it. We think it’s a huge opportunity for him and we’re excited about where it’s going to go.”
The 6-foot-3 and 215-pound Scott came to Columbus as a four-star wide receiver from Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic as part of the Buckeyes’ 2020 recruiting class. However, he played mostly on special teams, registered just 14 offensive snaps and did not catch a single pass during his freshman season.
Fast forward a few months, and Ohio State is set to return its entire receiving room from last season, including starters Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, as well as key contributors in Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming. The Buckeyes also added a trio of top-100 players in Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jayden Ballard, so it would be an understatement to say the unit is oozing with talent.
There was significant turnover at tight end, meanwhile, as Ohio State lost Luke Farrell and Jake Hausmann to graduation, and Scott surely saw an opportunity for playing time at a position where senior Jeremy Ruckert is the only returning player with extensive experience. His backup, sophomore Cade Stover, made a similar position switch from defensive end to tight end last year, as well.
“My approach is that I want to do what they feel comfortable with,” Day said. “If they’re not comfortable playing a position, then we won’t do it. It wasn’t I told Demario (McCall), ‘You have to go to defense,’ or Gee Scott, ‘You have to go to tight end,’ because, if their hear is not into it, it’s not going to work.”
Of course, it’s possible – if not probable – Scott moves back to wide receiver after Olave and Wilson head to the NFL. But Day believes growth potential and overall athleticism could give the Buckeyes an advantage at tight end moving forward.
“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. “He was doing everything he could to stay at 215. He actually said that , If I just have a few Big Macs, I can get to 225 in a heartbeat.’ We think that his growth potential fits that of a tight end.”
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