All (Buck) eyes on Stoneburner

By TIM MAY

Columbus Dispatch

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There’s a notion that tight end Jake Stoneburner has been one of the more underutilized options in Ohio State’s offense the past few seasons.

That theory is about to be put to the test, though not necessarily in the Buckeyes’ game against Florida in the Gator Bowl on Monday in Jacksonville, Fla. The game will mark the last effort of the current OSU offensive staff, led by coordinator Jim Bollman, before a new regime takes over in 2012.

So it might behoove Stoneburner, a junior, to catch everything thrown his way that afternoon, because the coaches who will plot his future — incoming coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman — will be watching. And they have a history of throwing to the tight end — conditionally, anyway.

“First thing, it’s who the tight end is,” Meyer said. “If he’s not a good player he will not get the ball.”

Translation: There are no guarantees; a tight end must prove himself capable. If he does, Herman can point to the stats of his past, which could portend big things for Stoneburner’s future.

“My last year at Rice [in 2008], our tight end James Casey was second in the nation in catches for any position with 111; then two years later here at Iowa State, our tight end Collin Franklin was second in the country in catches by a tight end [with 54],” Herman said. “So we’ve certainly found ways to use the tight end, and so has coach Meyer in his system.”

Herman said they will continue to explore that part of the offense at Ohio State, where the tight ends seldom have been featured in the passing game. Sure, Stoneburner tied wideout Corey Brown for the team lead in receptions this season, but with a mere 14 catches each for the offensively-challenged Buckeyes, it wasn’t anywhere close to a record year.

Meyer and Herman will walk in to the first offensive meeting early next year preceded by their reputations for exploiting spread concepts.

But will there be room in such thinking for a seasoned fullback such as junior Zach Boren, who has carved a niche as a gifted lead blocker?

“Yes,” Meyer said before the question was finished. “Bill Lasko was a great fullback for us [at Florida]. Aaron Hernandez was a great fullback/tight end. Obviously, Boren can’t go out and flex out [into the slot], but I’m a big fan. There’s a huge place for him.”

But stating who from the current players might figure heavily into the 2012 offensive plans, with the exception of quarterback Braxton Miller, would be premature, Meyer said.

“What I do every week is I’ll take the top 10 playmakers on the team — I will personally; that’s my job — and I will say, ‘This guy needs to touch the ball seven times, 12 times,’” Meyer said. “You know Percy Harvin? Fifteen times, 18 times. Aaron Hernandez happened to be that talented.

“So I’m not worried about the position, I’m worried about the player.”