After two breakout seasons as a pass-catching tight end at Ohio State, Cade Stover was drafted by the Houston Texans with the No. 123 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft in the fourth round.
Going to Houston, Stover will now be able to reunite with his former college quarterback, C.J. Stroud, who he connected with for 36 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns in the 2022 season. He said he’s excited to be able to catch passes from Stroud again, and is ready to help the Texans however he can.
“It’s such an honor to play with C.J. again,” Stover said. “They’ve got something special going down there in Houston. I’m really, really excited to be a part of it here. My emotions right now are hard to put into words but I’m just excited to contribute in any way I can.”
When Stover first came to Columbus in 2019, he had played many different positions, and he started with the Buckeyes as a linebacker before making the permanent switch to tight end two seasons ago, but he feels like that makes him more prepared for anything coming his way at the next level.
“I’ve been thrown in a million different directions. Nothing has ever gone like how it’s supposed to on pen and paper in my life or my playing career,” Stover said. “I feel like I’m battle tested and I feel like I’m ready to go.”
One thing that he said has always been consistent in his play is that he is going to give everything he has on every play, something he said he brings to Houston, along with being a great teammate off the field. That was shown by him being a captain at Ohio State for the past two seasons.
“They’re getting a complete utility player,” Stover said. “I’m going to do whatever you ask me to do. 100 percent of everything I’ve got every single time. I’m going to be the glue in the locker room, I’m going to be a dude people can come to when things go wrong. I’m excited to help this team any way I can.”
With tight end Dalton Schultz signing a three-year extension in Houston, Stover won’t be the first option there, but he said Schultz is someone he has tried to model his game after and he’s looking forward to being able to pick his brain.
“I think Dalton Schultz is a great player. I’ve watched a lot of his film growing up,” Stover said. “The last couple of years I’ve studied a lot of what he does, especially when he was on the Cowboys. Now to be able to learn from a guy like that and take notes and tips on how he handles his life and everything, I just think it’s going to be awesome.”
Now Stover moves on to the next step of his career where he will be playing on a young team that made a playoff appearance last season and beat the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round 45-14. He will be playing under head coach DeMeco Ryans, who was a linebacker for the Texans for six seasons of his 10-year NFL career. Stover thinks the fact that Ryan’s playing days aren’t far behind him will make him a good coach to play for.
“That make the biggest difference in the world and I can tell by how the players respect him and the job he’s done in the short time he’s been there,” Stover said. “He seems like an unbelievable person and I’m excited to be able to play underneath him.”
