Ohio State tight end Cade Stover selected No. 123 overall by Houston Texans
COLUMBUS — Ohio State tight end Cade Stover just kept getting better and better as his career went on.
Now he’s taking his do-it-all ability with him to the NFL. The former Buckeyes captain and versatile offensive weapon was selected No. 123 overall Saturday by the Houston Texans in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Stover will team up with former Buckeyes star quarterback C.J. Stroud in Houston.
Stover is the third Buckeyes player to be selected joining Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who was selected No. 4 overall by the Arizona Cardinals, and defensive tackle Mike Hall, who was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the 54th overall pick.
Stover wrapped up his impressive high school career with 82 catches for 1,058 receiving yards and 10 touchdown grabs. After becoming a reliable pass-catcher for C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes offense in 2022, he again was a weapon for the offense last season.
He showed a lot of growth in the two years he was a playmaker for the Buckeyes.
“I think the game slowed down for me,” Stover said of his growth in 2023, when speaking to the media at the NFL Combine in late February. “I think I grew up to embrace the moment a little bit more and enjoy yourself instead of being always so uptight and trying to think ‘what’s next, what’s next.’
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“I’m still trying to take that step to be able to enjoy what you’re doing.”
Stover will have a chance to become a big piece of the Houston offense now after being selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
Recruiting background from Cade Stover
From Lettermen Row’s Andy Backstrom:
Cade Stover starred at linebacker in high school. He was named Ohio’s Mr. Football and Gatorade Player of the Year at Mansfield High School after a senior season that included 163 tackles and four interceptions, not to mention his 1,477 rushing yards and 17 scores as a running back. Plus, he was a semifinalist for the High School Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top linebacker. Then, on the hardwood, Stover set Mansfield basketball’s all-time scoring record.
Remember, Stover started his Ohio State career as a defensive end, first tried tight end during the 2020 season but then late in the 2021 season returned to linebacker, even starting at the position in the Rose Bowl. It wasn’t until the following offseason that Stover made a full-time return to tight end, and in due time his pro future came into focus. But in high school, he also held scholarship offers from Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State, Kentucky, Minnesota, Virginia, West Virginia, Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio). Stover took an official visit to Oklahoma the week of the Ohio State spring game, but he followed that trip up with an official to Ohio State, which sealed the deal for him. Stover’s commitment announcement was perfectly farm-inspired.
