Berry settles in at tight end

COLUMBUS » Rashod Berry wasn’t going to be denied.

The redshirt sophomore from Lorain had come too far to come up short.

Taking a medium-range pass from backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins during Ohio State’s 5421 throttling of visiting UNLV on Sept. 23, Berry shook off a shoestring tackle and headed downfield toward the goal line.

Encountering another defender, Berry knocked him away like a fly buzzing around his helmet and cruised into the end zone to complete the 38-yard touchdown reception.

It had been a while since the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, a former multi-sport athlete at Lorain, felt he was exactly where he was meant to be.

But after being switched from offense to defense and then back to offense during his first two years at Ohio State, Berry has finally found a home at tight end.

The positional chess match — at least in his mind — is over.

“It felt good,” Berry said, a broad smile spreading across his face. “It felt like a dream come true.”

In his best game to date with Ohio State, Berry caught three passes for 57 yards and a touchdown against the Runnin’ Rebels. He nearly had another touchdown, but fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line late in the game.

The performance brought some praise — and some constructive criticism — from coach Urban Meyer.

“Rashod Berry, a very talented guy that is coming and coming and coming,” Meyer said. “I wish it happened yesterday, but you see the talent. He runs through people, but then he laid it on the ground one time going in.

“A very talented guy. I love his attitude right now.”

Berry came to Ohio State with lofty credentials, catching 37 passes for 578 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, leading Lorain to its first state playoff appearance in 2014.

But he was also a disruptive force on defense, with 11 tackles for loss, six sacks and six forced fumbles.

Ohio State could have put him anywhere, but started him off at tight end.

He redshirted his freshman year anticipating being a tight end for years to come.

Then as a redshirt freshman a year ago, he moved over to defensive end. Playing a backup role in 10 games, Berry managed seven tackles (four solos).

Again, Berry thought he had found a home at defensive end.

Until Meyer approached him this summer and suggested a move back to tight end, a move necessitated by the injury to A.J. Alexander, leaving Ohio State thin and young at tight end.

Behind starter Marcus Baugh were redshirt freshmen Luke Farrell, Jake Hausman and Kierre Hawkens.

Berry didn’t have much experience, but he had more than the others besides Baugh.

Berry admitted he wasn’t sure about another position change.

“Yeah, I thought I was (going to be a defensive end),” Berry said. “(The journey was) very frustrating. A lot of adversity, but I trusted in God and prayed every night. I surrounded myself with good people and just really kept myself focused.”

If there is one thing that helped Berry in the transition, it’s that he put on 25 pounds of muscle. Needing to bulk up to make the transition from tight end to defensive end, Berry went from 235 pounds to 260 pounds.

If his performance against UNLV is any indication, he didn’t lose any of his speed or pass-catching ability with that one year hiatus to defense.

“Like riding a bike,” Berry said. “I was there (tight end) my first year. Coming back, my body was different. But everything came together.”

In a blowout game such as Ohio State’s 33-point win over UNLV on this steamy September afternoon, it’s not always easy to glean anything important out of the game.

One of the things Ohio State might have figured out against the overmatched Runnin’ Rebels is that Rashod Berry is a viable option in the offense.

Berry was one of seven different Ohio State players to catch a touchdown pass against UNLV, a program record. The others were Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill, C.J. Saunders and Terry McLaurin.

“Probably the same thoughts as everybody else,” Meyer said of his postgame thoughts on his team’s performance. “Let’s go do it against a team that’s equally matched.”

But for now, Berry will take his breakout moment — no matter whom it came against.

After changing positions a few times, making a contribution was all he wanted.

Now it looks as though he has found a permanent home.

“I think so, yeah,” he said. “It felt good. I finally got my feet wet, got on the field and was doing something positive for the team.”

JAY LAPRETE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ohio State receiver K.J. Hill celebrates his touchdown against UNLV during the first half.