Ohio State getting ‘best version’ of TE Gee Scott Jr., Jelani Thurman still learning

COLUMBUS — Cade Stover is the bonafide starter at tight end this season for Ohio State. He’s a returning captain and team leader, after all. But the rest of the pecking order is interesting two weeks into preseason camp.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was asked about it Monday, primarily because of the fast rise of true freshman Jelani Thurman as an early enrollee in the spring.

Then there was the news that redshirt freshman Bennett Christian is suspended for the season due to testing positive in January for a banned substance — Christian said in a statement he released that it was an ingredient in a supplement — apparently in an NCAA-administered screening around the time of the College Football Playoff.

On top of that, journeyman Joe Royer, who stepped up for Ohio State when Stover went out during the Peach Bowl CFP semifinal loss Georgia, “has been out, so he hasn’t practiced a bunch,” Day said.

Thus Day jumped quickly on the depth chart question to Gee Scott Jr., who made the move from wide receiver a couple of years ago and now might be hitting his stride at Ohio State.

“I think Gee … is the best version of himself right now,” Day said. “He’s been practicing well, he’s out there. Cade’s the starter, Cade has been solid in there, he’s had a really good camp, he’s someone that’s very, very important to our offense.”

But back to Scott, his consistency in all phases of playing tight end apparently has improved. Again, he was a wide receiver coming in three years ago, so among other things, he literally has had to grow into the role at Ohio State, now standing 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.

“Gee’s really shown we can trust him in certain things right now,” Day said. “He’s got to keep building on that, but the tight end position, it’s a tough position.

“You’ve got to put your hard hat on every single day. You’ve gotta bring it, you know, block like a lineman, run routes like a wideout. So Gee is learning that part of it.”

The hope, Day said, is that Royer, dealing with an unspecified malady, can return sooner rather than later to full-time practice. But that just leads to Thurman, who stood out at times in the spring and in preseason camp, and not just because he is 6-foot-6, 258 pounds.

“Jelani is just — you can see the talent, you can see all that [physical stature], but he’s learning all those things and how to put it all together,” Day said. “That’s a lot of job descriptions, and so at times he’s figuring all of that out.”

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