Cade Stover adding new wrinkles to Ohio State passing game

The Ohio State offense has powered the team to a perfect 6-0 start and tight end Cade Stover has been a big part of it. While most of the attention goes to the elite receivers on the perimeter, Stover has emerged as a quiet weapon inside.

He’s proven perfectly adept at breaking down defenses by himself, a mismatch of sorts in the passing game. At least one person quite familiar with NFL scouting sees him emerging as a bona fide option in next year’s NFL Draft.

“The difference this year with Cade, he looks a little quicker,” said the Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy, talking on the Andy Staples On3 show. “Without talking to the strength staff up there, some guys just come back for their last year and they look a little different as a player. Sometimes that’s technique, sometimes they look like better athletes.”

Stover has made the most of the extra burst this season.

Through five games he has logged 23 catches for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He’s got a shot to break the single-season Ohio State receiving record for a tight end, set back in 1966.

That extra bit of athleticism is huge.

“Cade’s always been a good athlete,” Nagy said. “He was a big-time high school running back. He was Mr. Football in the state of Ohio. So he’s always been a good athlete. But he just looks a little twitchier.”

As Ohio State gets into the heart of its season, starting with this weekend’s matchup with Penn State, guys like Stover will have to be on point. These are the kinds of games NFL scouts are looking at to make determinations.

It’s one thing to star against the likes of Indiana and Western Kentucky. It’s another to do it with the division on the line against a top-10 team.

But Stover has some other aces up his sleeve when it comes to the NFL Draft.

“I think big picture with him as a prospect, what NFL teams are really going to like is the guy played linebacker,” Nagy said. “I mean he’s got like four starts at linebacker and a couple starts at defensive end over his time at Ohio State and he’s played over 500 special teams snaps. Those are going to be big-time things when you get into April and you start stacking that tight end group and where it shakes down.

“One, he can put his hand in the dirt. He’s a tough kid. He’s a farm kid. He’s on pace to break the Ohio State receiving record for tight ends, and he’s played in the kicking game and he’s played on defense. There’s a lot to like with Cade.”

Cade Stover will get to showcase his skills even further this weekend. Ohio State and Penn State are set to meet at noon ET on Saturday with a broadcast on FOX.