Ohio State is one of two teams in the hunt to land a Big Ten tight end transfer next week.
Maryland tight end CJ Dippre announced Friday that he'll choose between the Buckeyes and Alabama when he announces his commitment decision on Tuesday.
I will be announcing December 27th pic.twitter.com/DhOdsWzaIc
— CJ Dippre (@CjDippre) December 23, 2022
A true sophomore in 2022, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end caught 30 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns for Maryland this season. The Pennsylvania native was a three-star recruit in the 2021 class and appeared in all 13 games for the Terps as a true freshman.
Dippre caught at least one pass in every game for Maryland during the regular season, and hauled in four balls for 30 yards and a touchdown against Ohio State when the two teams met in College Park on Nov. 19. Less than two weeks after that, though, Dippre announced he would enter the transfer portal.
With a Pro Football Focus grade of 69.6 on the season, Dippre ranks 37th in the country among tight ends. That's one spot ahead of starting Ohio State tight end Cade Stover, who caught 35 catches for 399 yards and five scores through the first 12 games this year, and has a decision to make about whether or not he'll turn pro after the season.
Ohio State could be without both of its snaps leaders at tight end next season. Stover has logged 694 reps so far this season, and sixth-year tight end/fullback Mitch Rossi has played 239. Behind those two, former wide receiver Gee Scott Jr. took the third-most reps at tight end (140), with redshirt freshman Sam Hart logging 17, Bennett Christian taking nine as a true freshman and third-year tight end Joe Royer seeing just seven.
If the Buckeyes do lose Stover, the addition of Dippre would give Ohio State a natural TE1 with Big Ten experience as Scott, Royer, Christian and Hart continue to develop. Ohio State also signed the No. 3 tight end in the 2023 class this week, with 6-foot-5 Jelani Thurman entering the fold as the No. 65 overall prospect in the country.
Ohio State has already landed two transfers since the end of the regular season, but both are special teams performers. Arizona State long snapper John Ferlmann committed to Ohio State on Saturday, and Kent State kicker Casey Magyar committed to the program Wednesday.
