Tag: Bennett Christian

Ohio State tight end suspended due to testing positive for banned substance

Rough news for the backup tight end #GoBucks

It’s a fine line between taking a supplement that is OK’d by the NCAA and one that isn’t, and [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] tight end [autotag]Bennett Christian[/autotag] found that out the hard way.

The Buckeye redshirt freshman has been suspended for the season after testing positive for a banned substance. Christian took to X, the website formerly known as Twitter, and owned up to the mistake.

It was as simple as checking in with the training staff to make sure what he was going to take would be fine, but didn’t. Now he will have to sit out this season. It’s a learning experience for Christian, who said his “goal this year is to be the absolute best teammate that I can be, and to continue to support this program for which I am so grateful to be a part.”

Christian could have seen the field this fall, but the development opens an opportunity for Joe Royer, Gee Scott Jr. and true freshman Jelani Thurman behind starter Cade Stover.

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Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

Ranking Ohio State tight ends by 247Sports composite recruiting rankings

Ranking Ohio State tight ends by 247Sports composite recruiting rankings #GoBucks

The Ohio State football program has six tight ends on scholarship and thank goodness the stud of the group, Cade Stover, is coming back for another season. All six tight ends arrived in Columbus as highly touted recruits, but only Stover has lived up to his potential at moving over from linebacker.

It will be interesting to watch Gee Scott Jr. and his development continue from wide receiver to tight end, but most expected the jump last season to be much bigger. There is still a surprising amount of hype surrounding Joe Royer and there are murmurs that he will see more time than Scott, but only time will tell.

We rank the scholarship tight ends on the roster based on their 247Sports recruiting rankings. Off we go …

Ohio State freshman Bennett Christian loses black stripe

Welcome to the brotherhood Bennett Christian! #GoBucks

Black stripe alert! Freshman tight end, Bennett Christian has shed his black stripe and was officially welcomed to the brotherhood on Saturday.

Christian came to Ohio State as a four-star recruit out of Allatoona High School in Acworth, Georgia. He was the No. 20 tight end in the 2022 class according to 247Sports composite. Known as a player with good hands, a good route runner and an excellent blocker, Christian looks to help the Buckeyes in the near future.

You can check out what the newest member of the Buckeyes had to say in the  video posted by the official Ohio State football Twitter account below.

The Buckeyes are preparing to take on the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 31 in Atlanta.

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Ohio State football commit gets huge bump in rankings

An Ohio State football 2022 commit went from a three-star to a four-star in the latest recruiting ratings update.

The Ohio State football team is off to a great start in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Ryan Day has already bagged the No. 1 ranked player in the land, quarterback Quinn Ewers, along with other highly sought-after talent.

Now a recent recruit just saw his ranking numbers jump way up according to 247 Sports. Bennett Christian committed to the Buckeyes in September of 2020 when he was offered as a three-star tight end. The Ohio State coaching staff probably knew something the rest of the country didn’t. Christian recently was bumped up to four-star status.

Christian helped lead his Allatoona High School team to an 11-1 record this past season and a trip to the elite eight of the Georgia 6A State Playoffs.

Kevin Wilson and Ohio State have really been focusing on developing the tight end position because it has often been underused in Columbus. National talent is starting to notice.

It’ll be interesting to follow this young man into his senior year and see how much more his rankings increase.

Ohio State football 2022 recruiting commitment tracker

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Tennessee offers 2022 Ohio State tight end commit

Tennessee Vols football recruiting news.

Josh Heupel and his coaching staff have started recruiting towards the Vols’ 2022 class.

The newly-hired coaching staff has offered 2022 tight end Bennett Christian. Christian committed to Ohio State on Sept. 1.

He is from Allatoona High School in Acworth, Georgia.

“Thankful to be re-offered by the new coaching staff at the University of Tennessee,” Christian said on Twitter.

Christian was initially offered by the Vols on June 3. Ohio State offered the 2022 prospect on June 2.

He has Power Five offers from Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State and Pittsburgh.

Tennessee currently does not have a commitment for its 2022 recruiting class.

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New Ohio State commit Bennett Christian scouting report

With the news dropping that tight end Bennett Christian committed to Ohio State today, here’s a look at what he brings to the Buckeyes.

With the news dropping that tight end Bennett Christian committed to Ohio State Tuesday, it’s time to take a look at what Bennett brings to the Buckeyes and what he’ll need to work on. As the thirteenth rated tight end from Rivals, Bennett a three-star recruit brings some size, grit, power, and receiving to the tight end position. Listed at 6-foot, 6′-inches, 235-pounds with a frame to add a little more, Christian could be a name we hear in the coming years.

For the positives of Bennett’s game, the first thing that jumps out on his film is his size. When lined up against defensive ends he looks like an offensive lineman. It helps that he plays defensive end as well for his Altoona High School team. He gets his hands inside the defensive lineman and uses his power to drive his opponent back.

Bennett’s size is evident in the receiving game as he gives a wide catch radius and target for the quarterback. He does well to absorb hits and is really tough to bring down. He has a good knack for attacking the ball at the high point and has soft hands without relying on body catches too often on tape.

Despite the positives, Bennett still needs some work to complete his game.  He sometimes holds a block a little long and needs to shed them better if asked to get into the second level after the first block. Also, he is a little slow coming out of his stance and will need a little refinement on his footwork.

In the receiving game, Bennett doesn’t really have great separation speed, relying mostly on his size to get free. He comes off the line a little slow and tends to round his routes off a little.

Bennett is a really good prospect, that with some refinements can be a dual tight end that will cause match-up issues due to his size and hands. If he can develop some of his small technique issues, he could be a huge steal for this recruiting cycle.

 

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Ohio Sate gets commitment from 3-star tight end out of Georgia

Three-star 2022 tight end Bennett Christian pledged his commitment to Ohio State on Tuesday. That makes five total commits for the class.

Ohio State received another verbal commitment for the 2022 football class tonight when tight end Bennet Christian announced his decision on Twitter.

Ranked as the No. 19 tight end in the 2022 recruiting cycle by the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Christian joins five other prospects that have pledged their services to Ohio State’s class that is rated as the second-best in the country right now behind only LSU.

Christian had limited his choices down to the Buckeyes and Tennessee but the trip to OSU’s campus with his father just a couple of weeks ago sealed the deal. Ever since then, he was thought to be a heavy Ohio State lean and all that was left to do was wait out his trip to Tennessee to follow through with one last visit before he decided to commit.

Though Christian is rated only as a three-star recruit, the OSU coaches think he’s better than what the recruiting services have him pegged and have pressed hard to get him in the fold.

 

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Ohio State not letting dead period stop it on recruiting trail

Ohio State isn’t letting the NCAA’s recruiting dead period stop it from working hard to land top prospects.

Even though the NCAA extended the dead period of coaches not being allowed to visit with recruits face-to-face, that doesn’t stop players from visiting campus on their own. With news that tight end Bennett Christian visited Ohio State and the pursuit of five-star 2022 offensive tackle Gunner Givens, it’s apparent the Ohio State football program isn’t letting up in its pursuit of elite prospects.

While coaches may not meet with players face-to-face nor visit their schools to watch games, they are still allowed to speak with players via phone and email. Face-to-face does matter to some players and parents, so it still should impact the overall recruiting throughout the NCAA. Video will be important this year, probably more so than in the past.

There are a slew of players for the 2022 recruiting class that will need to make decisions coming up, and having a dead period for a lot of programs means that the campus, legacy, and scheme will have to make more of an impact than the coach to player connection. This bodes well in a time of uncertainty, like 2020 is, for larger programs such as Ohio State.

Without knowing when the NCAA will end the dead period, and with some high school programs still uncertain about their seasons, this recruiting class could be very top-heavy for the elite schools. The Buckeyes have had top recruiting classes for years, and even without playing, there is no reason to think that will change.

Players can still talk to players, and there is nothing to stop recruits from asking questions. Players seem to really like Ryan Day and his staff, which lends to the credibility of the program even if players can’t directly talk to him or his staff. I expect as the fall and winter approaches we will all get a much clearer picture of where things stand with recruiting.

But don’t be surprised if Ohio State is right in the thick of things for one of the top classes in the country yet again.

 

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