Former Buckeyes tight end Nick Vannett says numbers don’t tell the whole story of his time at Ohio State. (Photo: Greg Bartram, Custom) Former Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett was considered one of the best players in the country at his position heading into the 2015 season, but he saw a significant drop in production as the Buckeyes posted a 12-1 record and came within a late-season loss to Michigan State of making a third straight trip to the Big Ten Championship Game. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Vannett turned 19 receptions into 162 yards, but was kept out of the end zone for the entire season. During the Buckeyes’ improbable run to the top of college football in 2014, Vannett caught 19 passes, which he turned into 220 yards and a career-best five touchdowns. “That’s the first thing when I meet with these teams, they always ask, ‘We feel you were underutilized,’ and I always smirk when I hear that, but we have so many threats at Ohio State, and it’s kind of hard to spread the ball around to every one of us,” Vannett said at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine. “We had a great running back in Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott) and a great offensive line, and we just ran the ball a lot. We had so much success at it, and I was asked to block a lot, so I just did what the coaches asked me to do and tried to be a good team player.” Although Vannett’s production was down in 2015, he welcomed the opportunity to not only discuss that with teams, but also, work out in front of scouts and coaches. “You definitely don’t do this every day,” Vannett said of the pre-draft process. “It’s definitely been a great experience so far, just meeting with all these other teams and especially with all of the guys that are here that you’ve played against and that you hear about on TV. Just to get to work out with them and meet them and just spend the whole week with them, it’s been good, and I’m just excited to work out. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.” In his four-year career with the Buckeyes, Vannett caught 55 passes for 585 yards and six touchdowns, and he credits that success to former tight ends coach Tim Hinton, whose role changed to executive director for football operations/special assistant to the head coach earlier this year. “Me and Coach, we have a great relationship, and I feel like he’s one of the main reasons why I’m here today,” Vannett said. …
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