(AP) — COLUMBUS, Ohio Cade Stover, an Ohio State tight end, reacted angrily to the criticism leveled at the program this week following the Buckeyes’ disappointing 23-3 road win over rebuilding Indiana.
Stover took issue with the hostility directed at new starting quarterback Kyle McCord on social media after the Buckeyes started shakily and failed to turn the game into the predicted rout.
“Good for fans who believe they are qualified to call plays and come out there and perform our job. “However, I can assure you that nobody here cares what they say,” added Stover, a team captain and top NFL prospect.
“I can assure you,” he said, “going into that game on Saturday that we are not thinking about Johnny in his basement typing, ‘Hey, you guys suck.'”
Stover, the team’s leading receiver last week with five catches for 98 yards, believes McCord and the Buckeyes will be focused when Youngstown State enters the Horseshoe on Saturday.
The Penguins of the FCS are followed by Western Kentucky of Conference USA the following week. Coach Ryan Day hopes to use that time to get the offense into a rhythm behind McCord, though he expects Devin Brown, the quarterback who challenged McCord for the starting position throughout the preseason, to have a chance as well.
The Buckeyes, who dropped two spots to No. 5 in the AP poll this week, will face No. 10 Notre Dame on Sept. 23.
“That isn’t just Kyle.” “It’s the offense all around,” Day said of last week’s performance. “It won’t be good enough moving forward to reach our goals.”
Youngstown State opened the season with a 52-10 victory over Valparaiso, with Tyshon King, a transfer from Northern Michigan, rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
“Of course, you want to go in there and show how you stack up against the best,” King said of his next game against Ohio State. “We want to show that we are some of those guys who can go in there and compete with them.”
Doug Phillips, the team’s fourth-year coach, is realistic about the matchup.
“I think if you probably talk to the Buckeyes, they’re focusing on them,” stated the Ohio State quarterback. “That is the theme of this month of September. When you don’t have a preseason or scrimmages, you have to take use of the opportunities you have, those non-league games, to figure out who you are.”
