Gee Scott Jr. ‘Sets the Tone’ as Leader in Buckeye Tight Ends Room

Stacking days, earning Buckeye leaves.

The Buckeyes will be tasked with replacing starting tight end Cade Stover in 2024. He’d been one of their captains and accomplished a productive five-year career that didn’t originally start at tight end.

One Buckeye who is entering his fifth year is Gee Scott Jr. Like Stover, Scott didn’t begin his college career as a tight end. He began it instead at wide receiver where Ohio State originally recruited him as part of the class of 2020.

Fast forward four years later, and Scott has become a voice within the program.

“Gee’s been great,” tight ends coach Keenan Bailey said. “I think he sets the tone for the unit. He’s been here for quite a while. He knows what it takes, right? So he sets the tone as far as details and preparation and effort and toughness, and everyone’s got to follow.”

Since arriving as a four-star recruit from Seattle, Scott has traversed a road of adversity and challenges. His first season was pandemic-impacted and shortened to Big Ten-only opponents during life amid social distancing.

Scott moved to the tight ends room before his sophomore season in 2021. He lost his mother before the season that year, and one can only imagine the emotional distress he faced in the span of several years.

Scott has also been part of the new era of college football that includes profiting from name, image and likeness and expanding in the time of conference realignment. Some may have looked toward the transfer portal for other opportunities and possibly more playing time, but Gee Scott has stuck with the Buckeyes, just like they’ve stuck with him.

“I think it speaks volumes,” Bailey said. “Not just for Gee but for the brotherhood. I know it sounds cliche and people read it on Twitter and kind of roll their eyes at the brotherhood. Why do you think the entire defense came back? For the brotherhood.”

Bailey said his expectation for the Buckeye tight ends he recruits is for them “to be the best tight end in the country.” Last season, Stover averaged 48 receiving yards per game, which placed him No. 17 among all Big Ten receivers.

Bailey said he thinks everyone needs to step up to replace Stover’s production and value to the Ohio State offense, from Scott to redshirt freshman Jelani Thurman to Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek and others.

“The unit’s got to be the best tight end unit in the conference, best in the country,” Bailey said. “That’s Ohio State. That’s why you came here: to be the best. So I don’t know if just one person is going to step in and be Cade Stover. I’m not asking them to do that. I’m asking the whole unit to be the toughest unit on the team, hardest-working unit on the team, and I think we’ll like our results.”

Scott totaled a career-high 70 receiving yards across 10 receptions last season. He has touchdowns in each of the past two seasons and owns a career seven-yards-per-catch output.

Head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes often say their three goals every year are to beat Michigan, win the Big Ten Conference and win the national championship. Scott has checked only one of those off his career accolade list.

“We got two goals here — we haven’t done them since Gee’s been here,” Bailey said. “He hasn’t hit his two goals so he stayed for the brotherhood, so I think it speaks volumes for Gee as a leader in the room. But also, I mean, you look around our roster, how many guys could have either left for other opportunities in the portal or in the NFL? So I think it speaks volumes to the brotherhood.”

Ohio State is searching for its next leader at tight end. Bailey said he wants whoever it will be “to take it and run with it,” and Gee Scott is in prime position to take command of a leadership role among the entire roster.

Scott has remained bought into the Buckeye culture throughout his four-plus-year career. As he and Ohio State are midway through spring practice, more and more signs of leadership will shine through the scarlet and gray.

“I’m not going to put it all on Gee. But again, the leaders drive the culture,” Bailey said. “My job as a coach is to make them hear things they don’t want to hear and to push them to do things they don’t want to do. So I’m certainly going to do that at times, and I’ll keep doing it. But they’ve done a great job of driving the culture.”