Redshirt sophomore Luke Farrell emerged this spring as the Buckeyes’ No. 1 tight end. As a blocker and a receiver, Farrell provided the best combination of everything Ohio State needs from its tight ends.
Last season was the first action that Farrell saw for the Buckeyes, but this spring he proved himself to his coaches on a daily basis. He may not be the receiving threat that Marcus Baugh was a year ago, but with two healthy shoulders, he is expected to be a more effective blocker than Baugh.
“He’s a smart young man,” said offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson. “He does have a skill set body. He has worked very, very hard.”
Farrell went into the offseason in January wanting a larger role and preparing to make that happen. Even before the competition began in the spring, he was getting his mind right in order to be the best version of himself that he could be.
“I’ll share with you something that I thought was pretty unique,” Wilson said. “Coach gives us a graph, then he wants guys to say, ‘You know, here’s your starting point and here’s your goal. Where are you?’ And most of my guys rated themselves along the path making progress. Luke was barely starting, and I’m like, ‘Okay, you had the best spring, you’re playing the best, you’re one of the most improved guys. You’re slated on paper to start as our starter, and you think where you want to be, you’re just starting? I think that shows the vision of how good he wants to be. So he’s worked very, very hard.”
Farrell didn’t contribute as much as he wanted in his first two seasons, and to be named a starter finally in his third season is an accomplishment in its own right. But as he detailed in his graph, he is just getting started.
“He’s had a very good spring,” Wilson said. “He’s on paper as our starter. And when he’s doing his graph and where my career is, he thinks he’s here, and I’ve got other guys who thought they were farther down the road. Because sometimes they think it’s just time. ‘My journey is time.’ His journey is where he wants to get to, and he thinks he’s barely getting started.”
Luke Farrell is in year three of his journey, but it is just the beginning. And in that beginning, he has provided a path for his teammates to follow.
“I actually shared that with our group and that’s why I’m sharing it with you,” Wilson said. “I go, ‘I think this is cool. Here’s a guy that had a really good spring and is a really good player, and he thinks he’s a long way from where he wants to go.’ I go, ‘Think about that mindset that he’s got.’
“And that’s why I think he’s developing. Because I do think he’s driven. I do think he has talent. But I think he has a goal he’s working to get and he’s working very hard.”
My man. You work hard then you get rewarded.