Hey, hey, where you been? But God talk is about to begin. Hey, hey, hey, come on in.

Welcome back to book. I talk Steve. It means Nathan Baird and Drew Gillis. It was tied in day. We talked with Kate

Stover, Joe Royer, G Scott and Kenan Bailey, which I think for a room that's that deep, I guess that's the people who

are going to matter this year. Kate's over the returning starter and then Joe Royer and G Scott being number two and number three, whichever order you

want to put them. Nathan, you have a story up on the site right now with a headline that's suggesting that Ohio State is going to try to take one of its best players off the field. And it's

suggesting that it's probably for the best of the long term here. Why is that headline on our site and what was said today that gave you major come to that conclusion? So from the time that Kenan Bailey took over as the

Titans coach, I think he's had, I mean, obviously a number of things he wants to do. But primary among those objectives was to raise the level of play below Kate Stover. They want Kate

Stover to get better too. And he went into some detail about how they come up with a plan of things he wants him to get better. Once

would be a better route runner, take another step there. And they came up with this plan, even before he had gone decided whether or not to

come back from the NFL. That was kind of part of the decision making process, I think, for Stover. But can you develop and again, as you say, the primary candidate, Joe

Royer and G Scott Jr. Can one of those guys take that next step, at least one of those guys take that next step and become the second reliable, like a, like a

sub first string, but like the second reliable tight end that you could get on the field more in 2023. And it's important for two reasons. The first one is because Ryan

Day likes to play 12 personnel. They didn't do that as much as they wanted to last year. But the second thing, I mean, it goes back to the Georgia game. When Kate Stover comes out of that game, there was a vast

chasm beneath him. And part of what was it goes, Royer had had such a strange year that he was not probably fully prepared for that moment. G Scott was hurt. Mitch Rossi was pushed a little bit beyond his talents to try to be an all-around tight end at that point. When Stover couldn't play, it hurt. And they want to play him less so they can play him more if that makes sense so that maybe you get to the end of a season. Even before he had the flip,

and the fall and everything against Georgia and couldn't play in that the rest of that game, he was pretty banged up at the end of last year. He was open about that. He was playing through some things. And the number that, and I went back and double checked that he was correct. The Keenan Bailey threw out there was 58, 58 snaps per regular season game. If you include the Georgia game, it drops it down like 54. It was 58 snaps a week for at a very, very physical position. And more than that.

I think it was 151 combined snaps between the Maryland and Michigan games. And that's a lot of time for a guy to be out on the field doing the things a tight end has to do. I think it's not that he can't do it.

But when you have to do it and you have to do it all season, I think they saw the wear and tear accumulate. If he had been able to play maybe fewer snaps early in the year, maybe he's better situated to play 151 snaps in those last two games.

So that's kind of what that post was about was that this is still, this has been the mission that Keenan Bailey has been on.

The mission the tight end room has been on. And where do things stand right now as far as Joe Reuter and G Scott taking that next step.

And they're obviously speaking with some optimism about that. Obviously we only get to see a limited amount of things in the spring or the in preseason camp.

So the proof will be in the pudding at Indiana or really the Papa Johns is what they serve there proof will be in the pizza.

But I think there's reason for optimism that they will do that that they will find a second person and that there will be times when even when they only have one tight end out on the field early in games, even big 10 games.

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