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In 2011, Ohio State Buckeyes junior Jake Stoneburner was named to the watch list for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s best tight end.

Under the brutally intense heat in its home opener, the Buckeyes junior tight end set a new school record by hauling in three touchdown passes from first year starting quarterback Joe Bauserman. Stoneburner responded to his record setting day by first saying he was happy that the team won and joking, “I’m also happy about scoring three times.” He was sure to immediately comment on the quarterback play of Bauserman, “Joe played a great game. He was out there looking for me and we connected three times.”

The whirlwind off-season for the Scarlet and Gray saw plenty of changes, from its head coach leaving as well as its star quarterback. However, Stoneburner, one of the mainstays is still here in 2011. The familiar adage for all quarterbacks, especially ones just getting started, is that they use the tight end as a safety value. That adage rang loudly and clearly in Ohio State’s 42-0 win over the Akron Zips.

“He’s a dangerous weapon,” senior center Michael Brewster said. Converting from wide receiver to tight end, Stoneburner brings excellent size and speed to the position. He’s a mismatch for opposing linebackers to handle, and the results were evident in the numbers he posted against Akron.

In 1996, former Buckeye Rickey Dudley went ninth overall in the NFL Draft. Since then three others have joined Dudley in being selected in the draft. The Dublin, Ohio native Stoneburner, who played his high school football 15 miles north of Columbus, is well on his way to achieving the feat of being the fifth tight end to enter the NFL.

“Hopefully we can keep it rolling,” said Stoneburner. “I think the pieces fell into place today and scoring that first touchdown pass of the year felt pretty special.”

That feeling Stoneburner describes as ‘special’ may become the norm because it took him one game in 2011 to match the total number of touchdowns by all tight ends in 2010 with three. If the 6’5” 245-pound all-conference type talent stays healthy, the sky is the limit.