Senior Tackle: Ohio State commit Cade Stover happy to spend one last summer at home with family, friends

Ohio State commitment Cade Stover is set to embark on his final season of high school football and basketball at Lexington (Ohio) High School.

Lexington, a small town of just about 4,700 people near Mansfield, is a farm community that’s played an instrumental role in raising Stover, the country’s eighth-ranked outside linebacker. He committed to the Buckeyes in late April this year, picking Ohio State over Penn State, Notre Dame and 20 other schools. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound athlete is on the verge of becoming his school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball, and he will share all of the ups and downs of his senior year with Lettermen Row in this weekly journal.

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Let me start my first journal entry for Lettermen Row by getting this out of the way: My family and I are waiting for everything at Ohio State with Urban Meyer to finish up, but there is no doubt that I am 100-percent committed to Ohio State. There’s no reason for me to say anything more about it.

It’s been a good summer for me, but I know my summer plans and what I do for fun are very different than the average kid and the average high school football player. Sure, we have the occasional get together with my friends, but summer in Lexington, Ohio at Stover Farms? That always starts with the first cutting of hay. That is one of my favorite things to do. I have raked and baled the first cutting of hay since I was 6 years old. Granted, I have gotten much better since I was six-years old.

I love this part of my life, the hay and feeding cows through the summer.

With this summer being my last summer here in Lexington, I have experienced some of my favorite things for the last time. In all honesty, I will miss summer basketball camps the most. Our high school team went down to West Virginia University for the past 2 years. We have always played well against some of the best schools in the country, so that trip and those memories will always hold a special spot in my heart. The chance to play one more season of basketball here is the primary reason why I am not going to be graduating early. I owe my friends and teammates, some of the people who made into what I am, a final state championship run. And selfishly, becoming Lexington High School’s all-time leading scorer in basketball is a big milestone for me. That is something I have chased since my freshman year. Right now I am 55 points away from this record with one full season left to do it.  I look to enjoy every moment of the ups and downs of my senior year.

Our football team works out 5 days a week all through June and July, so there’s work being done on my game, too. I am sure all of you people see the pictures of the Opening, Rivals and All-American games.  If you’re a Buckeye fan you may have asked yourself, “Why doesn’t Stover go to any of these camps?” 

The answer in my opinion is clear: I simply don’t need stars or ratings to show how dominant of a football player I am or can be.

That has nothing against the camp organization or the kids that go there. I just have always been about staying home and working on my craft, trying to better myself here in my hometown. A huge reason I choose to workout at my school is my strength coach Dan Studer. He recently took on Massillon High School’s head strength coach duty along with Assistant Principle role. While Stu was at Lexington, he was the heartbeat behind the way we worked, so I need to keep that going, because as a leader that’s more important than chasing “stars.” I have never trusted someone outside of my family more than I trust Stu. When I came into high school my freshmen year at 180 pounds, tall and skinny, Stu saw something in me that at that point in my life I didn’t even see. He took me and transformed my body from 180 pounds with average speed to 230 pounds that can run.

Our 2019 Buckeye class is coming along extremely well, and I’m proud to be a part of it. The class really speaks for itself. It is a bunch of guys that are down to earth and know how to work. I am excited to see who else joins the family and getting to know the guys in the family better. My one main goal during this football season is to be the Division 2 Defensive Player of the Year in Ohio. Along with that goal, I also want to make the playoffs in football, because last year didn’t go how we wanted. I don’t like the taste it left in my mouth. That’s why I’ve spent my summer working and trying to get better. That’s what matters for me.

Thanks to everyone who took time to read this. I’ll be back next week at the same time. Go Bucks!