Every Monday, when Urban Meyer takes the podium for his weekly press conference, Ohio State’s head coach lists the top performers from his team’s previous game.
You know the names. J.T. Barrett, Raekwon McMillan, Curtis Samuel, Gareon Conley. There are others, too, at times, but there is usually a core of four or five names listed every single week.
They’re the best players on the team, so this is far from abnormal.
But there is also a pair of offensive players that often sneak onto the list Meyer rattles off. A pair of guys who maybe Ohio State fans wouldn’t expect to be named as top performers — ‘champions,’ as the Buckeyes call them.
Wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell always seem to earn praise from Meyer, but perhaps not for the same reasons as those other players.
“Parris Campbell is one of our most valuable players just because of his value in the special teams,” Meyer said Monday. “I mean, he makes tackles on kickoff, he is one of the best gunners in the country. … A lot of respect for Parris.”
“Terry McLaurin is also a program guy,” Meyer continued. “Very valuable player for us.”
Their value isn’t exactly measured by glancing at the stat sheet.
Through four games, McLaurin and Campbell have just six catches apiece. McLaurin has 64 receiving yards; Campbell has 57. Those numbers are modest at best.
Each is in their third year with the Ohio State program, too, and in last Saturday’s 58-0 victory against Rutgers, both found the end zone for the very first time in their respective careers.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of prayer went into that,” McLaurin said Wednesday after practice. “Just knowing that I was put in an opportunity to make a play and I made that play to help us get a touchdown was big for me. All I want to do is help contribute, so all I wanted to do was make that play when the ball was in the air.”
The two are part of a deep wide receiver rotation used by Ohio State. Noah Brown is the Buckeyes’ No. 1 target on the outside, but after that, it’s anybody’s guess as to who is going to catch passes from Barrett.
The constant rotation at wide receiver is part of what makes Ohio State’s offense so dynamic. Campbell and McLaurin are key in that.
“I think we could be the most dominant offense in college football,” Campbell said. “We’re getting in the groove of things, guys are starting to get receptions, guys are starting to make plays and I think it can only go uphill from this.
“I think we have a lot left in the tank.”
The Buckeyes’ passing attack currently ranks just 58th nationally at 244.3 yards per game so there is plenty of room for improvement. To be fair, though, Ohio State really hasn’t been forced to throw the ball a ton yet, either, as its running game featuring Barrett, Samuel and Mike Weber ranks No. 3 in the country at 332 yards per game.
Once the Buckeyes are forced to throw it a bit more, Campbell and McLaurin should see an increase in their production.
Neither seems to mind much right now, though, and it’s the big reason why Meyer speaks so highly of his two “program guys.”
“We push each other every day to be the best unit in the country, so whoever is in there has to make that play,” McLaurin said. “But personally, I just want to choose one thing I need to get better at every practice and have it come to culmination in the games.”
Added Campbell: “I think guys are happy and content with what’s going on right now. We don’t have guys complaining about getting balls. It’s all for the unit, for the team.”
