The weakest positional link on the 2016 Buckeyes, the self-dubbed "Zone 6" has looked more like "Zone Sicks" through the balance of Ohio State's first seven games.
Last weekend in the loss to Penn State things came to a head as the true wide receivers on the roster (e.g. I'm not counting the slot guys) recorded just five receptions on a day in which J.T. Barrett logged a career-high 28 completions.
Remarkably, accounting for just 18% of Barrett's completions versus the Nittany Lions was only slightly worse than the 22% of Barrett's completions they hauled in versus Indiana (2 of 9).
In today's 24-20 win over Northwestern, however, the true wide receivers took a very modest step forward recording nine receptions out of 21 Barrett completions, or 43%.
As usual, it was Noah Brown leading they way tallying a career-high-tying five grabs for 51 yards on eight targets.
Brown showed intense fight on his first two opportunities catching balls in traffic and fighting for tough yards highlighted by a 13-yard grab on 2nd and 14 to get Ohio State back on schedule during what became a 15 play, 80-yard drive capped by a Mike Weber 23-yard run giving Ohio State a 17-7 lead.
Brown's best effort however came on Ohio State's final possession in which it ran the final 3:31 off the clock. Facing a 3rd and 7, Brown snared a laser from Barrett in heavy traffic for 16 yards and three plays later his blocking triggered a 35-yard run from Barrett to ice the game.
Of course with Brown's five grabs that means the rest of the true wide receivers only tallied four catches but hey, that's two more than wideouts not named "Brown" were able to snag last weekend.
K.J. Hill, who came into today with just three catches after missing some time with an injury, hauled in a crucial 34-yard pass from Barrett giving Ohio State 1st and Goal from the Wildcat 10-yard line. Two plays later Curtis Samuel found the end zone giving the Buckeyes a 24-17 lead they would not relinquish.
Parris Campbell, before departing with an ankle sprain, recorded a 15-yard reception and followed that up with a 24-yard run on a nifty reverse as part of a game-opening possession in which Ohio State 94 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead. Campbell finished with three touches for 42 yards.
Terry McLaurin and James Clark each added a 9-yard reception to close out the wideout production.
Again, this group is still as raw as the subtweets etc. from their position coach, who is a stud recruiter but I'm not sure the same can be said for his player development to-date. It also can't be overlooked today's production came against the B1G's worst pass defense (282 ypg).
Finally, the deep ball threat from this group remains non-existent and it doesn't sound like there's a quick fix lurking. Meyer's take postgame confirmed as much as he offered, "It's a combination -- and we're not hitting it. I don't know if we're separating. I see the same thing everyone else that watches us. And I just think we're going to get that figured out."
Still, the hope is today's collective nine-catch, 118-yard outing from the true wideouts with another 27 on the ground can be something to build upon heading into next weekend's primetime showdown with Nebraska.
