Cleveland, OH
On Gee Scott Jr.’s clutch catches, Ohio State’s ‘bang bang’ plan for Western Kentucky and freshmen corners: Buckeye Bits
COLUMBUS, Ohio — While Ohio State football’s third-down execution stumbled in the first two games, tight end Gee Scott Jr.’s fourth-down reliability thrived.
The fourth-year former receiver had a fourth-down catch for a first down conversion in each of the first two games. Kyle McCord went to him on fourth-and-2 in the first quarter at Indiana, and Devin Brown found him on fourth-and-7 against Youngstown State. Both catches extended touchdown drives.
So far those are his only two receptions as he splits time with Joe Royer behind starter Cade Stover. With the Buckeyes using a lot of two tight-end looks on fourth down, though, they may not be his last such opportunities.
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”Any time you can help out your offense be successful or help out your team in any sense — whether that’s special teams or whatever it is — helping your team towards victory has always just been such a blessing,” Scott said.
The 25 snaps played at Indiana were a career high, per Pro Football Focus. The 22 he played last week also ranked third. The increased playing time reflects all-around improvements in his game, including as a blocker.
His perspective on an expanded role has matured, as well.
“It’s kind of a balance,” Scott said. “It does feel good to be out there and be able to contribute to our offense. But at the same time, at the end of every week, you almost kind of reset. You enjoy it — especially after Saturday nights and afternoons, I enjoy and I feel good about it.
“When we come in the next day for practice, I almost flush it and put it behind me. By the time next Tuesday comes and we’re back practicing again, that’s in the past. I’m only as good as my next game. And I feel like I’ve just got to keep putting one foot in front of another to continue helping the team.”
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What else we learned this week:
• True freshman cornerbacks were pressed into action early over the past two seasons, from Denzel Burke and Ryan Watts in 2021 to Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner last season. Through two games, Jermaine Mathews and Calvin Simpson-Hunt are developing at a more conventional pace.
Mathews, a winter enrollee, made his debut with 10 snaps against Youngstown State. “They’re both coming in their own ways,” secondary coach Tim Walton said. “We try to prepare them each week because you never know when your number is called. It happened last year. You can all of a sudden be thrust into 25-30 plays before you know it.”
• Defensive back Jordan Hancock insinuated the Buckeyes secondary was bracing for Western Kentucky’s rapid-fire, run-pass option attack. “It doesn’t really change my job because they can always hit us for the deep ball anytime,” Hancock said. “They’re gonna try to neutralize our D line. But we’ve got to stay on our P’s and Q’s every play.”
• Hancock on Western Kentucky’s top receiver, Malachi Corley: “Really smart, intelligent. athleticism. The yards after the catch, he can break tackles and is very elusive.” Ohio State endeavoring for Corley’s catches to have a “bang bang” quality, with quick tackles. Corley missed last week’s win over Houston Christian with bruised ribs but is expected to play Saturday.
• Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said Western Kentucky’s defensive backs are playing “levels higher” than they did last season. Second-year defensive coordinator Tyson Summers was previously a defensive analyst at Florida, the DC at Colorado in 2019-20, a defensive quality control coach at Georgia (2017-18) and Georgia Southern’s head coach (2015-16).
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