Cade Stover plays tight end with a linebacker’s ferociousness.
He’s aggressive, relentless and willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. When other NFL draft prospects opted out of bowl games rather than risk injury, Stover defied his agents and bucked the trend by playing in the Cotton Bowl. And he’d prefer being paid in tractors rather than NIL cash.
This is how Stover views football — hard and tough with no place for those who’d rather turn down a challenge. See, he’s still a defensive player at heart.
“They’ve asked if I’m capable of helping defensively and there’s no doubt about it, I can help wherever you want me to help,” Stover said Thursday at the NFL’s annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. “I love playing tight end, but then again I’m there to do whatever we need to win a ballgame.”
The truth is Ohio State wanted the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder to play linebacker. But once he arrived on campus, the Buckeyes started experimenting with other positions.
First, they tried him at defensive end. For spring football in 2020, he moved to tight end. In January 2022, with the Buckeyes depleted by injuries and opt-outs, they asked him to play linebacker, and he had six tackles in a 48-45 Rose Bowl victory over Utah before finally finding his calling at tight end.
Over those final two seasons, Stover emerged as one of the most athletic and productive tight ends in school history, and now he’s one of the position’s top three draft prospects.
Not everyone is as versatile as Stover. But Brock Bowers of Georgia, Ja’Tavion Sanders of Texas and Stover do have one thing in common — each was once considered a future defensive star.
Playing for winless Napa High School as a sophomore, Bowers was lightly recruited. He had only one FBS scholarship offer, Nevada, before one of his coaches fought hard for him to be included at a Nike camp. There, he was so good, the offers started pouring in, including one from Notre Dame to play linebacker.
Eventually, the Fighting Irish…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/top-3-tight-ends-at-nfl-scouting-combine-bring-defensive-mentality-to-draft
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Publish date : 2024-03-01 01:33:45
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