When Joe Royer arrived at Ohio State in 2020, it didn’t take long for him to realize he was nowhere near ready to play tight end for the Buckeyes.
“One of my first practices here as a freshman, (blocking against former Ohio State defensive end) Zach Harrison, we went back the wrong way about 10 yards and I was like ‘Holy shit, what am I doing?’” Royer recalled. “That's about how the first snap went when my hand was in the dirt.”
Royer has come a long way over the last three years.
For one, the former Elder High School wide receiver is significantly bigger than he was when he arrived at Ohio State – and even than he was last year. Going into Ohio State’s final game of last season against Georgia, Royer weighed 243 pounds. Now, he says he weighs 255 pounds, and those extra 12 pounds of muscle have made a big difference as Royer practices blocking Ohio State’s current defensive ends.
“Man, I never really realized how much like 10 pounds could make a difference. But I feel it,” Royer said Wednesday. “I feel stronger in my legs, being able to drive and move guys. It's definitely helped me.”
Royer hasn’t seen much game action in his first three years as a Buckeye. He did not play at all as a true freshman, then appeared in only five games with 34 total offensive snaps in 2021. Expected to see an increase in playing time last year, Royer ended up playing in only six games with 35 offensive snaps, 28 of which came in the Peach Bowl because Cade Stover left the game early with back spasms. Royer was sidelined for seven games last season by a groin injury while he also spent time away from the team due to the death of his mother.
The opportunity for Royer to earn much more playing time is available to him this year. With No. 2 tight end Mitch Rossi gone from last season, Ohio State is looking for other tight ends to step up to take some of the workload off the plate of Stover, who played 707 offensive snaps a year ago. And Royer might be the leading candidate to do so, especially now that he’s a bigger, stronger blocker. While Gee Scott Jr. is also in the mix to be Ohio State’s top backup tight end, questions remain about whether Scott – who began his Ohio State career at wide receiver and is smaller than Royer at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds – can do everything the Buckeyes ask their tight ends to do from a blocking standpoint.
Royer is excited about the potential he has to play a bigger role.
“It feels good,” Royer said. “Just trying to put good stuff on film, let the coaches know they can trust me to put me out there in games and have multiple different roles, whatever that may be.”
Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey believes Royer’s combination of increased size and blocking ability coupled with the athleticism and receiving skill he still has can make him a weapon for the Buckeyes’ offense.
“He was a receiver in high school. And he was a really good one. So just his body movements, especially now, I mean, he weighs 250 whatever he weighs, and to be able to move like he does is pretty unique,” Bailey said.
Stover also expects Royer to make an impact for the Buckeyes this season.
“Joe is kind of the gel of the room. He's the always got a smile on his face kind of guy. Super happy. That’s a really good culture guy. And he's a super, super good athlete, too,” Stover said. “He'll be a really good player for us.”
Blocking is where Ohio State really needs Royer to be ready to contribute this season, especially given that it will be breaking in a new pair of starting offensive tackles. Stover is coming off the most productive receiving season by an Ohio State tight end in the last nine years (36 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns), and of course, the Buckeyes have also the nation’s best wide receiver corps, led by Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
But Royer thinks he can be an asset to the Buckeyes’ offense both with his pass-catching ability as well as his blocking ability, especially as a blocker in space.
“I feel like I can add value downfield, making plays, stretching the field for our offense and even while I was playing receiver, we'd do perimeter blocks. So I feel like one of my strong suits as well is blocking on the perimeter and out in space,” Royer said. “So I feel like I can add those two things, and the blocking in-line is still coming along and I feel like I can help in that way as well.”
Royer said 2022 was a bad year for him both on and off the field. On the field, Royer’s year ended on a sour note when he failed to effectively block Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker on Ohio State’s final offensive play of the game, forcing Stroud to throw the ball away on 3rd-and-11, leaving Ohio State to settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt with the game on the line that Noah Ruggles would miss. Royer says he’s ruminated on that play over and over again, though he’s trying to forget about it now that a new season is about to begin.
“That's one thing I got to work on is pass pro. So getting bigger, stronger, being able to sit, move my feet into a strong position like that with a good rusher like that is critical,” Royer said. “I couldn't tell you the amount of times I've watched it and thought about it. Now the season’s coming up, so just trying to move past it, honestly.”
Playing on such a big stage, though, made Royer hungry for the opportunity to play in more big moments this season.
“I kind of got a taste of what games like that were, and I want more of it, for sure,” Royer said.
The pain Royer has felt off the field over the past year has been harder to put behind him, as Royer says he still thinks about his mother all the time. But the support of his Ohio State coaches and teammates has helped him deal with that loss, and he believes everything he’s had to battle through both on and off the field will help him deal with every challenge that comes his way this season.
“It was a rough year, man. I'll put it that way. It was not a good year for me. But I just try to build from it, learn from it. Just kind of control what I can control,” Royer said. “Obviously, you can't really control kind of both of those things that happened. But trying to take positives from each of them and get better any way I can.
“Honestly, I just don't really feel like there's anything that could really go on in my life that would get me to that point again. So like, when things get tough, I feel like I'm scarred from things like that, calloused in a good way. Obviously, what happened wasn't good, but you know, it kind of built up my mental toughness, being able to fight through certain things.”
