Tight end Cade Stover is one of the top players at his position entering the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Ohio State Buckeyes alum is considered one of the top two or three tight end prospects in this year’s draft and is projected by many outlets to be selected around the third round. The 6-foot-4, 247-pound tight end could very well be the second tight end selected in draft after Georgia’s Brock Bowers, who is expected to be selected in the first round.
The 23-year-old tight end is an interesting story because he didn’t make the conversion to the position on a full-time basis until the 2022 season. Stover was recruited to play linebacker at Ohio State, ending his high school career as Ohio’s Mr. Football and the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as the second-ranked prospect in the state. That’s also not even mentioning how Stover lettered in basketball, breaking Lexington High School’s all-time record in scoring.
After arriving in Columbus, Stover converted to defensive end for his freshman season in 2019.
Stover explains why it’s a benefit that he’s excelled on both sides of the ball.
“It helps tremendously,” Stover said during a one-on-one sit down interview in Las Vegas. “I can see the game from a different side of the ball, I can see it from a different lens. When I see a linebacker, the farther he splits out — too far that way — I’m still looking for that stuff. Especially when the game slows down on offense. It’s helped me a lot.”
The highly touted prospect playing full-time on defense was short-lived as he shifted to tight end during the 2020 season. It was on the offensive end that Stover truly came into his own, catching 36 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns during the 2022 season before posting 41 receptions for 576 receiving yards and five touchdowns during the 2023 campaign.
Stover is originally from Mansfield, Ohio, which is about an hour north of Columbus, where Ohio State University is located.
“Selfishly, I think I can fit basically anywhere you put me. People worry about me — coming from my background — I wouldn’t have trouble playing in a place like this,” says Stover, referring to Las Vegas.
“I can be anywhere you want. Whoever wants me,” Stover says while laughing.
Stover — who was speaking on behalf of his new partnership with Icy Hot — participated in workouts and drills with New York Giants tight end Darren Waller and fellow top-ranked tight end prospect Ja’Tavion Sanders of the Texas Longhorns, both of whom are also involved with Icy Hot.
“This is actually a product we use day in and day out,” says Stover of Icy Hot products. “This is in the recovery routine, the workout routine. If you feel something stiff, you slap some of it on there.”
The Buckeyes prospect detailed the best piece of advice given to him by Waller from the on-field workouts. Waller is a former Pro Bowler and became the league’s highest-paid tight end during the 2022 season when he signed a three-year, $51 million contract extension with the Las Vegas Raiders.
“A couple route tips he gave us as far as how he looks at things, how he reads things as far as square cuts or speed cut stuff,” explained Stover. “Just helped me a lot.”
He also thanked Waller for the advice given to him and Sanders regarding the mental side of not only being a football player, but life itself.
Waller — who overcame substance abuse issues and a season-long suspension earlier in his career as a member of the Baltimore Ravens — spoke to both Stover and Sanders and gave them some tips as they prepare to begin their NFL careers.
“Investing in your mental health, investing in your inner world is the most important thing you can do,” advises Waller. “I feel like coming into the league, I had skills. If given the opportunity, I would have made plays. But my mind wasn’t there — my spirit, my inner world, who I was as a person.”
Stover — who compares himself to Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, who also lettered in basketball in high school — explains that helping his father with his family farm is what motivates him.
“Anything I can do to better myself as a player and help my dad with his farm,” says Stover. “That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m not just after it for the money. I’m after it to help build this farm and give my dad the opportunity to do that and not work two jobs.”
The Ohio native also details why growing up and working on the farm instilled a toughness and discipline in him that separates him from other players.
“A lot of people don’t have the mental toughness or the structure to deal with a lot of things that you have to get through to do this,” says Stover. “I can get through this with a smile on my face. There’s not going to be one day where I say, ‘This is too hard to do.’ There’s never a quit. You just do it. That’s how I was raised and grew up.”
The former two-sport standout lays out what his objective is entering his rookie season.
“Mean something,” says Stover. “Find your role, whether it’s a starting role, special teams, do what you have to do to make a name for yourself where the time comes, you take it and run.”
