Everybody wants to talk about Nyckoles Harbor… I’m just over here like, ‘Whatever happened to Gee Scott?’
– C2C intern, overheard in the lunchroom
Everybody knows Ohio State’s wide receiver recruiting has been elite lately. Sending WRs into the first round of the NFL draft consecutively tends to help with that. However, lost in everyone’s fascination with the Marvin Harrisons and Garrett Wilsons of the world are the forgotten names of the Buckeye WR room. There are plenty of high ranked recruits that never pan out in Columbus, and many of them move on to another program soon after.
Today’s player chose to stick around—but at another position. Gee Scott, once a high-flying WR recruit coming out of the state of Washington in the class of 2020, was an extremely exciting prospect amongst the CFF community at the time. His impact in the collegiate game thus far has been minimal. Being a larger WR body coming out of high school, the expectation was that he’d be a DK Metcalf-esque style entity for the Buckeyes later in his career.
That never materialized, but he did make an interesting shift in his career a few offseasons ago. Scott, having outgrown the WR position, announced that he’d be transitioning to the TE position. Unlike at the WR position, where he’s more of an average commodity, Scott’s frame and athleticism make him an apex athlete for the TE role.
As is usually the case with TEs, the staff they play for will be a key determinant of whether they are featured in the offense.
Coaching & System
TE1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 5.77 — OC1: 8.14 — OC2: 9.01 (half-PPR)
One of the big offseason moves this year was former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly voluntarily taking the role of offensive coordinator at Ohio State. We’re all aware that head coach Ryan Day is usually involved in the play calling, and his protegé, Brian Hartline, also holds the title of OC. However, as you might have expected last year, Hartline is more of a glorified recruiting analyst than an actual play-calling coach. This will be Chip and Ryan’s offense this year.
From the standpoint of TE production, the more the offense matches Chip’s philosophy, the better, in my opinion. His five-year historical target share average of his TE1s is around 15%, but in three of his last five seasons (excluding the COVID season), his primary TE has received a 16% or higher share, including a 24(!)% share in 2018.
Kelly’s 2018 TE actually led his Bruins in receiving—Caleb Wilson caught 60 passes for 965 yards and four scores. Devin Asiasi was second on the team in receiving in 2019, finishing the year with 44 passes for 641 yards and our scores.
On the other hand, Ohio State’s patterns of production under Day tell a different story.
The highest target per game average under Day at OSU currently stands at 4.33 targets per game. That—short of the TE being the second coming of God himself—is obviously not going to get it done from a CFF perspective. That’s why I say that the closer the offense resembles Chip’s preferences, the better as far as this profile is concerned.
The (presumed) new starting QB, Will Howard, comes over from an offense where the TEs were featured. CFF managers will remember the name Ben Sinnott from last year, this was a season where Will Howard targeted the TE approximately 18% of the time under head coach Chris Klieman. Here’s a snippet from an OSU writer this offseason:
It is no secret how much Will Howard loved utilizing the tight end while he was a starter at Kansas State, so we could see the new Ohio State quarterback look Scott’s way early in the season to try and build a rhythm with the tight end if Howard does end up as the starting quarterback from the Buckeyes.
It remains to be seen what the target spread will be at OSU this season, as you might have heard that there are some pretty good WRs in the room. In fact, a lot of the hand-wringing this offseason amongst CFF managers is that there are probably too many mouths to feed already at WR. Especially considering that this offense is likely to have a much heavier ground reliance than in years past.
Gee Scott (6’3″, 243)
2023 STATS: 10 (15)-70-1 (1.8 PPG)
As mentioned previously, Scott joined the program with the 2020 class as a WR. In the spring of 2021, he began his transition to TE, which is obviously going to be a learning process for any receiver which Scott spoke to earlier this offseason:
I’ve come a long way. I’d argue that tight end is the most developmental position on the field. It takes a long time to get around to it. It takes a lot of work. It’s a full process. It’s not something that’s a one-year turnaround or a six-month turnaround where you come in and catch it on the fly. It’s something that takes a lot of time and attention.
I’m thankful for my great coaching staff and a great unit around me. (I’m thankful for) guys from back then, starting off with (Jeremy Ruckert) and those guys to Cade (Stover). I think there’s been a great example set for how to attack blocking and being a tight end here at Ohio State.
One of the OSU beat writers mentioned this about Scott’s development this year:
Even though Scott’s stats aren’t going to jump off the page at people, it’s obvious there has been growth as he has become more comfortable at the tight end position.
What has helped to raise expectations this season for Scott are the glowing reviews he received in spring practices from head coach Ryan Day and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey. Day raved about the leadership and attitude Scott has brought to the unit after the graduation of Stover, while Bailey said Scott emerged as the leader of the tight end unit.
This is what Day specifically said earlier in the offseason:
I think he’s had a really good offseason, I think he’s gonna have a really good spring, I think he’s right where he needs to be . . . He’s had the right offseason, he’s got the right approach. His leadership and just demeanor has been excellent, attitude’s been off the charts. I think he’s poised to have a really good year. Has to go do it.
As far as how the TE rotation could look this year, Day also offered some insight into that. Here’s a snippet from a report via Eleven Warriors:
Day indicated last week that Scott was a step ahead of the rest of Ohio State’s tight ends.
“I think Jelani, Will, Bennett, those guys are gonna have to really step up the next couple of weeks to figure out who’s going to be able to play…”
Here’s another snippet from that report on Scott:
An indicator of Scott’s standing in the tight end room this spring came at last week’s Ohio State pro day when Scott was among a select few Buckeyes – also including quarterbacks Devin Brown and Will Howard and defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau – who were given the opportunity to work out alongside the NFL draft prospects participating in the event.
While Bailey said the reason Scott was chosen to participate in the pass-catching workout was because Ohio State wanted to have a route-runner so that the NFL draft prospects would have more rest between reps, he acknowledged that OSU wouldn’t have chosen just anyone to participate in the showcase.
Closing
According to Campus2Canton’s ADP, Scott is currently going undrafted. Like with most TE profiles, the likelihood that he becomes an above-average CFF asset is low, but there are enough nuggets here to generate some intrigue.
The positives are his athletic profile and receiving background, the QB’s tendency to utilize the TE position, and the OC’s system. That’s more than can be said about a lot of TEs in CFF. I view Scott as a viable late-round dart throw candidate in either format.
