“Everybody wants the Julio Jones — they don't come around very often.”
Urban Meyer never coached the 6-foot-3, 220-pound freak of nature that caught four passes for 87 yards in Atlanta's 34-28 loss to New England in Super Bowl 51. Jones spent three seasons at Alabama, which coincided with Meyer's final years as the head coach of the University of Florida.
But Meyer wanted Jones desperately like every other program in the country. Seeing what the receiver morphed into at the next level for the Falcons makes that as obvious as it does simplistic. But Meyer's quote — which came with a wry smile along with it — was in response to a question about Ohio State's recent attention to tall, fast and long wide receivers on the recruiting trail.
“Everybody wants big and fast. I don't think any school in the country is looking for small. No. It's the best quality player that's available.”– Urban Meyer
Through the last two cycles, the Buckeyes have signed five players at the position — six if you count Brendon White, who remains unsure where he will play — that are at least 6-foot-2. Jaylen Harris and Elijah Gardiner are both even taller at 6-foot-5, and 2016 signee Binjimen Victor is 6-foot-4.
Whether or not any of those names become what Jones is for the Falcons is impossible to predict. But it sure looks like the Buckeyes are trying to strike gold with one of these long, lanky players at wide receiver like Nick Saban did with Jones in 2008. Even if Meyer claims Ohio State has not changed the types of players it goes after at the position in recruiting.
“Everybody wants big and fast. I don't think any school in the country is looking for small,” Meyer said. “No. It's the best quality player that's available.
“It's the top 15 receivers in America, and you don't say, 'but they have to be 6-foot-3' because that also limits your pool. And all of a sudden out of the top tall receivers in the country, six are from California, one from Arizona, two from Texas. That's not in our backyard.”
Each of Meyer's six recruiting classes at Ohio State ranked in the top-10 nationally, so it is evident the Buckeyes go after the best players year in and year out. For example, the fact the Buckeyes only signed seven Ohio kids in what is widely considered the best single crop of talent in program history is telling. They went and identified the top players everywhere at every position and went after them.
But look at the measurables at wide receiver — the difference in size (especially in 2013 and 2014 as opposed to recently) is obvious.
| CLASS | PLAYER | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | RECRUIT RATING | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | MICHAEL THOMAS | 6-4 | 200 | 3-STAR | Left program early after 2015 season for NFL |
| 2012 | FRANK EPITROPOULOS | 6-3 | 195 | 3-STAR | Left program in 2014 for med school, walked on at MSU |
| 2012 | RICQUAN SOUTHWARD | 6-2 | 185 | 3-STAR | Left program in Oct. 2012 for personal reasons |
| 2013 | JALIN MARSHALL | 6-0 | 190 | 4-STAR | Left program early after 2015 season for NFL |
| 2013 | DONTRE WILSON | 5-10 | 175 | 4-STAR | Battled injuries during career, which just ended |
| 2013 | JAMES CLARK | 5-10 | 170 | 4-STAR | Six career catches, one year of eligibility left |
| 2013 | COREY SMITH | 5-11 | 185 | 4-STAR | Battled injuries, 31 catches in career |
| 2014 | CURTIS SAMUEL | 6-0 | 180 | 4-STAR | Star H-back left for NFL early after 2016 season |
| 2014 | JOHNNIE DIXON | 5-10 | 187 | 4-STAR | Seven career catches, two years of eligibility left |
| 2014 | PARRIS CAMPBELL | 6-0 | 184 | 4-STAR | 13 catches last season, two years of eligibility left |
| 2014 | NOAH BROWN | 6-2 | 215 | 4-STAR | Seven TDs last season, left early for NFL |
| 2014 | TERRY MCLAURIN | 6-0 | 190 | 4-STAR | 11 catches, two TDs last season, two years of eligibility left |
| 2015 | TORRANCE GIBSON | 6-4 | 205 | 4-STAR | Moved from QB to WR, just transferred to UC, never played a down |
| 2015 | K.J. HILL | 6-0 | 188 | 4-STAR | 18 catches, TD last season, three years of eligibility left |
| 2015 | ALEX STUMP | 6-3.5 | 195 | 4-STAR | 1 career catch in 1 career game, three years of eligibility left |
| 2016 | AUSTIN MACK | 6-2 | 205 | 4-STAR | 2 catches last season, three years of eligibility left |
| 2016 | BINJIMEN VICTOR | 6-4 | 180 | 4-STAR | 4 catches, TD last season, three years of eligibility left |
| 2017 | TREVON GRIMES | 6-3 | 205 | 4-STAR | Coming off ACL injury |
| 2017 | JAYLEN HARRIS | 6-5 | 210 | 4-STAR | – |
| 2017 | ELIJAH GARDINER | 6-5 | 185 | 3-STAR | – |
*Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson are included because they also served as wide receivers
The chart shows that Ohio State has lacked in serious playmakers at the wide receiver position outside of Michael Thomas in Meyer's tenure, at least in terms of players that he has signed. Obviously, their hope is that Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack, Trevon Grimes, Jaylen Harris and Elijah Gardiner can change that.
The latter is a "project," as Meyer said on signing day, a raw but talented player Ohio State believes can turn into a worthy contributor.
“Kind of if you miss on a player, make sure you miss fast and miss big, and they usually turn into something,” Meyer said on Gardiner.
The five receivers in the last two classes average out at just under 6-foot-4. The players in the previous four classes average to be just more than 6-foot tall. That includes Torrance Gibson, who is about to play quarterback for Luke Fickell at Cincinnati.
So while it is fair for Meyer to say that Ohio State always hunts for the best players at every position every single recruiting cycle, it has finally been able to land some tall and long athletes at wide receiver. The Buckeyes just didn't have the consistent success they might have liked landing the tall and fast wide receivers earlier in Meyer's tenure. A look at the top-15 receivers in the country according to 247Sports in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 support that.
Not to mention, Parris Campbell played running back in high school. James Clark, Johnnie Dixon, Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson played a variety of positions when they were younger and the Buckeyes intended on them to either play H-back or wide receiver. Some guys worked out — others did not.
Grimes, Mack, Victor, Gardiner and Harris all were true wide receivers in high school. Does that mean more production from that unit next season? It better, because with Samuel and Brown gone to the NFL and Wilson's graduation, the best statistical pass catcher back in the fold is tight end Marcus Baugh.
Meyer said Ohio State's philosophy in recruiting receivers hasn't changed but the numbers prove otherwise. At least in terms of landing them.
“That's never changed. It's just can you get them, are they out there, are they good enough?” Meyer said.
The Buckeyes hope that Harris, Grimes, Gardiner, Victor and Mack are good enough moving forward.
