The past several years, tight end had been a duet at Ohio State, with Jeff Heuerman considered the lead singer and Nick Vannett the sidekick who came on strong in the harmonies.
Now with Heuerman gone to the NFL, Vannett is the one singing lead while trying to mentor a younger Marcus Baugh and two understudies.
“Since Jeff was here, I was kind of in his shadow a little bit,” Vannett said. “Now that he’s gone, it’s my turn to step up and prove to everybody I am the player that I am and also to bring Marcus along and the two freshmen along.