You’re Nuts: What do you most want to see Ohio State improve during Improvement Week?

Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

Today’s Question: What do you most want to see Ohio State improve during Improvement Week?

Jami’s Take: Tight End Production

Maybe Matt and I are both nuts this week for focusing on room for improvement when the team is firing on pretty much all cylinders at the moment, offensive line aside.

But here we are, and because the offensive line is the obvious answer, I’m actually not going to take the low-hanging fruit.

In order for this team to reach their potential for greatness, they do need to fix some offensive line issues, but I also believe they have the capacity to look beyond that and dig a little deeper into more granular things, so they can square them away before they face real challenges in earnest.

Beyond the aforementioned O-Line factor, the most glaring issue for me (which, again, is getting nitpicky) is the untapped potential of the tight ends. While the tight ends have been effective as blockers, the Buckeyes haven’t fully figured out what to do with their receiving potential yet (in part because Ohio State doesn’t have to).

There are so many weapons already that it almost feels greedy to ask us to use more of them; plus using our tight ends as large blunt objects helps to fill some of the gap left by the offensive line, but allowing our tight ends to do more than block—particularly in these early games as we try to vary the reps guys are getting—could help some of these guys develop into true threats.

Week Two was an improvement on what we saw against Akron in Week 1—a game in which tight ends Gee Scott Jr., Will Kacmarek, and Jelani Thurman combined for 0 receptions—but clearing a bar of “zero” doesn’t say much.

During the Buckeyes’ routing of Western Michigan in Week 2, the tight end production improved: Gee had one reception, Kacmarek had two, and Patrick Gurd and Bennett Christian each had a catch (Christian’s was a 55-yard touchdown).

Now, low-ish production isn’t particularly new to the Buckeyes, but in the past, they’ve been more effective at using their tight ends holistically than what we’ve seen so far this season.

In particular, there is room for the Buckeyes to do more with their tight ends on the receiving front, which could be especially beneficial when the Buckeyes get into the meat of their season. Tight ends who can do it all have the potential to elevate an offense substantially – and this isn’t news to the Buckeyes, given their success with guys like Cade Stover.

Stover, for example, had 36 receptions for 406 yards in 2022 and 41 receptions for 576 yards in 2023. When you look at the Buckeyes’ current roster of tight ends, a guy like Thurman–who struggles more with the blocking side of things than his current counterparts–could pose a threat as a receiver if we let him really cook.

Kacmarek, for his part, isn’t necessarily going to be putting up bonkers receiving numbers, but he could do more than he’s been given the opportunity to currently. Having Kacmarek pose more of a dual threat could be dangerous for opponents, given his blocking abilities. He has the potential to do some heavy lifting to cover for offensive line deficits (which is admittedly where the Buckeyes need the help more this year), but I truly believe the guy can also help the team move the ball down the field if given the chance.

Albeit at a MAC school, Kacmarek totaled 42 receptions and two touchdowns in his last two seasons combined. These aren’t astonishing numbers by any means, but he has also shown throughout training camp his potential to grow into this role as a Buckeye, and I’d like to see him get more opportunities to pose a more dual threat.

If Ohio State can make better use of these guys on the field, it could be the thing that takes an already-top-caliber team all the way this season.

Matt’s Take: Offensive Line Play

Jami can call it “low-hanging fruit” all she wants, but it would be a dereliction of my journalistic duty if I didn’t call out of the offensive line play when discussing things that need to be improved by the Buckeyes. Admittedly, the hogmollies played better against Western Michigan than they did against Akron, but we know that there is going to be far more challenging opponents down the road, so there has to be improvement.

We came into the season knowing that the offensive line was going to be the biggest question mark for the Buckeyes, and I still contend that Ryan Day and Justin Frye needed to do more in the transfer portal to address this obvious weakness. Yes, they got Seth McLaughlin, and through two games, he has been close to excellent. However, the right side of the line was a question mark in January, and it is still one now.

Obviously missing a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection like left guard Donovan Jackson for the first two games is going to throw things into a little bit of added chaos, but Austin Siereveld has done an admirable job in Donny’s stead, so the left side isn’t the final point of concern. Against Akron, right tackle Josh Fryar looked a bit at sea, although against Western Michigan, he seemed more at ease. Tegra Tshabola has been serviceable in his first two starts at right guard but hasn’t come out of the gate looking like a sure-fire stud at the spot.

According to Pro Football Focus’ grades — which at this point, I shouldn’t need to tell you to take these with a grain of salt — the Buckeyes have graded out as the 31st best run-blocking team in the FBS, so roughly in the top 25%. However, given that they have played two teams that are graded as No. 125 and 133 (out of 134) in terms of rush defense so far, that might not be as impressive as it otherwise would be. Of course, when there are so few data points to analyze, Ohio State is going to loom large in the grades for both Akron and WMU, but it’s worth noting nonetheless.

The Buckeyes do a bit better on pass-blocking where they are graded as the 22nd-best team in FBS. I would actually say that they have done a pretty good job in pass-blocking. OSU has only allowed two sacks, neither of which were against Will Howard or the starting offensive line. For what it’s worth, Akron is again No. 125 in pressure, while Western Michigan jumps to No. 109.

Here’s the thing, judging solely on the first two weeks of the season, it is a tad nit-picky to criticize the offensive line; they’ve been mostly fine. However, when you compare them to seemingly every other position group, their performance pales in comparison. The wide receivers — highlighted by the immediate ascension of Jeremiah Smith — have been national-tiitle quality. The defensive line — with an added sense of aggression missing in recent years — has been been national-tiitle quality. Even quarterback play — aided by Howard’s decision-making and ability to move in the pocket — has been been national-tiitle quality.

This team needs to have an offensive line that can live up to that standard if they want to finally reach any of the goals that have been avoiding them in the past three seasons. So I hope they did some improving over this past week.

Let us know who you are agreeing with: