Ohio State TE Cade Stover has limited experience at the position, but remains one of the top tight end prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. Let’s go back through Stover’s football history and explore his unconventional path to the NFL.
Where Did Cade Stover’s Football Career Start?
Stover went to Lexington High School in Lexington, Ohio. Although he’s a tight end now, he took quite the winding road to get there.
In high school, Stover was a two-way player, operating as a running back on offense and linebacker on defense. As a senior, he ran for 1,477 yards and 17 touchdowns, while registering 163 tackles and four interceptions on defense.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
As even more evidence of Stover’s incredible athletic prowess, he broke his school’s scoring record… in basketball.
Stover was a four-star football recruit, generating a ton of interest from Division I FBS programs. He received 22 offers, ultimately deciding to go with Ohio State.
Revisiting Stover’s College Career
Initially, Stover was slated to play linebacker at Ohio State. However, coaches decided to move him to defensive end.
As a true freshman, there wasn’t much opportunity for Stover. He appeared in just one game, redshirting the season.
Despite previously playing running back, linebacker, and trying out his hand at defensive end, Stover switched to tight end ahead of his sophomore season (redshirt freshman). As you may have gathered, this is the position that stuck.
Stover again didn’t play much, appearing in only two games. He didn’t catch his first pass until his third year at Ohio State in 2021.
As a junior (redshirt sophomore), Stover played in 13 games, but wasn’t a big part of the offense. He only caught five passes for 76 yards.
Entering his fourth year of college, Stover had little to show for. To consider him an NFL prospect, let alone a good one, would’ve been laughable at the time. That speaks to how much Stover progressed over the remainder of his time at college.
As a senior in 2022, Stover’s involvement grew. He hauled in 36 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns.
In 2023, Stover’s redshirt senior season, he truly blossomed into an NFL-caliber tight end. Stover secured 41 balls for 576 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games.
While Stover had another year of eligibility remaining, he chose to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Stover’s Potential in the NFL
Although Stover doesn’t quite have the college production due to not really playing until his final two years, his rapid progression speaks to his upside at the NFL level.
Georgia’s Brock Bowers is the undisputed TE1 of this year’s class, but PFN’s draft analyst Ian Cummings sees Stover as one of the top options behind him.
“On my 2024 NFL Draft Big Board, Stover is a potential top-75 prospect and one of the top tight ends in the 2024 class behind Georgia’s Brock Bowers. There are a few factors that may lower Stover’s maximum range in April, but he’s a safe bet to be a Day 2 or middle-round pick.
“Stover’s ability to make high-difficulty adjustments — high and low-point balls and get to passes behind him — is almost unrivaled in the 2024 class, and he also has incredibly strong hands with great coordination and timing. Stover is a constant threat in contested situations and a clutch receiver on important downs.
“Not only is Stover a potential game-changer at the catch point, but he’s also a stellar run-after-catch threat. He’s agile enough to offset defenders, and he can relentlessly churn through contact and tackle attempts with his physicality, contact balance, and forward-pressing style.
“At the NFL level, while Stover doesn’t quite have the elite athletic upside of other prospects, he can be a quality NFL starter early, with utility on all three downs.”
MORE: Cummings’ Full Scouting Report of Cade Stover
Given how exceptional the 2023 tight end class turned out to be as rookies, it’s probably best to temper expectations for Stover. But it would be far from a shock if he was a top-10 NFL tight end within 2-3 years.
Highlights, Records, and More
Stover’s first individual accolade came during high school. In 2018, he received the Mr. Football Ohio Award, which goes to the best football player in the entire state.
Given the way his collegiate career started, Stover didn’t have a chance to do much early on. Yet, he advanced quickly enough and was productive enough to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022.
In 2023, Stover was not only first-team All-Big Ten, he was also the Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year and one of the three finalists for the Mackey Award, which goes to the nation’s best tight end.
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