Jake Stoneburner

An all-state receiver in Columbus, Ohio, Stoneburner stuck close to home to play for the Buckeyes. As he grew to 6-feet-5 and 245 pounds, he became a better fit as a tight end who could cause matchup problems with his size/speed combination. Stoneburner redshirted in 2008 and spent 2009 as an understudy to Jake Ballard. He was a part-time starter in 2010 and set career bests with 21 catches for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His stats declined last season as a junior, but he tied for the team lead with 14 grabs and set a personal best with seven scores. He returned to wide receiver with the arrival of head coach Urban Meyer in 2012. However, Stoneburner first had to get back in the good graces of the coaching staff following an offseason arrest. Come fall practice, Stoneburner was officially moved to wide receiver. Meyer compared him to Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez for his versatility, and Stoneburner was used as a tight end, wide receiver and lined up in the slot or as an H-back in 2012. "I don't really know what my role is for sure," Stoneburner said in September. "They have me listed as a starting wide receiver, but they have put me in at tight end and I've played a little bit of fullback. I guess they just want to use me in different ways. I'm fine with that." Although he is an intriguing receiving option, Stoneburner isn't the top 100 prospect that many are making him out to be and projects as more of a third-day selection.

strengths

Stoneburner is a tall athlete with good length and catching radius. He plays with excellent body control to adjust and come down with the catch, showing very good field awareness. Stoneburner has usually strong hands and focus to snatch the ball out of the air and make some tough catches look easy. He makes plays after the catch, showing good effort and power to pick up tough yards. Stoneburner has smooth footwork in his routes and straight-line speed to make plays downfield. He displays some tenacity as a blocker and does a nice job on the perimeter. Stoneburner did a nice job finding the end zone with 13 career touchdowns, scoring once every 4.1 times he touched the ball.

nfl comparison

David Paulson, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers - Neither has prototypical size for tight ends and look more like rocked up wideouts, but do offer value as reliable possession targets

weaknesses

Stoneburner is a little stiff in the hips and plays too tight at times, needing to stay balanced in/out of his breaks. He has a lean torso and body type, lacking an elite frame for the position. Stoneburner isn't overpowering as a blocker and needs to do a better job moving his feet to mirror when left home in pass protection. He is a tad heavy-handed and, although improved, known for holding penalties. Stoneburner isn't overly aggressive in tight coverage and can be overmatched physically by linebackers, causing him to fight the ball at times and have his share of drops. His career production isn't overly impressive with 53 catches for 664 yards (12.5) in 26 career starts.

2010: left Eastern Michigan game with an ankle sprain and did not play against Illinois and Indiana.

A 2009 Academic all-Big Ten honoree, Jake graduated in December 2012 with his degree in family resource management

he was a record-setting receiver at Dublin Coffman, under the direction of coach Mark Crabtree

caught 74 passes for 1,267 yards with 15 touchdowns as an all-state, all-metro, all-district and all Ohio Capital Conference receiver as a senior

a two-time all-state selection and totaled 168 career receptions for 2,751 yards and 28 touchdowns

a U.S. Army All-America game selection as well as Big 33 game

runner-up for Ohio's Gatorade player of the year

also lettered in basketball and track and field.

Jake is the son of Cathy and Mark Stoneburner.