Prior to the 2015 season, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer had one primary concern on offense for his team: How would the Buckeyes go about replacing Devin Smith at wide receiver?
Two games into the season, it appears that worry is still there for Meyer.
“That’s to be determined,” Meyer said Thursday on his weekly call-in show on 97.1 The Fan. “We’re not there yet, and that’s a concern of mine.”
Smith became a mainstay on offense over his four-year stint in a Buckeyes’ uniform. He finished his career fifth all time in receiving yards (2,503); fourth all time in average yards per catch (20.7); second all time in receiving touchdowns (30); and, perhaps most impressive of all, Ohio State never lost a game when Smith had a touchdown catch.
During Smith’s senior season, though, is when he really broke out. His 931 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns were both team highs, and Smith led the nation in yards per catch, averaging a ridiculous 28.2 yards per grab.
All of that helped Smith blossom into a second-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2015 NFL Draft. But his departure left quite the void on Ohio State’s offense.
The Buckeyes certainly don’t lack for options as they have plenty of talented, young receivers on the roster. But none of them have proven to be as effective as Smith was at his craft: catching the deep ball.
“That’s to be determined. We’re not there yet, and that’s a concern of mine.”– Urban Meyer
“You have Braxton [Miller] who is getting a little more comfortable as a deep threat, you have Curtis Samuel, you have Jalin Marshall, you have those young players that aren’t quite ready or are getting close,” Meyer said. “Johnnie Dixon was a guy that we’re counting on, but he’s still not quite 100 percent with his knees. That is to be determined.”
Ohio State firmly has its No. 1 guy at wide receiver in Michael Thomas, who has seven catches for 98 yards and one touchdown through the Buckeyes’ first two games of the season. But part of Ohio State’s effectiveness last year was having Smith’s deep-ball ability coupled with Thomas’ well-rounded game.
As good of a receiver as Thomas is — he’s a potential first-round NFL Draft pick should he choose to declare following this season — Meyer said his game is not predicated on being that deep-threat receiver.
“Mike Thomas is a great receiver,” Meyer said. “He’s not that receiver.”
Another option Ohio State fans have been wondering about is Torrance Gibson, the highly-touted freshman quarterback who made the move to wide receiver during fall camp. But Gibson suffered an ankle injury back in August that slowed his progress, one that Meyer said cased the talented freshman to miss “a week and a half or two weeks of camp.”
“He’s back in his groove, getting better and improving,” Meyer said of Gibson. “He’s another one we’re watching and trying to develop.”
Finding a replacement for Smith hasn’t been figured out just yet. But Buckeyes' fans can find some solace in the fact the season is only two weeks old.
"We've got to get that figured out," Meyer said.
