Here is a somewhat eye-popping statistic: Ohio State wide receivers who were able to regularly compete in spring practice this season combined for exactly one catch for 29 yards during the 2015 campaign. Those numbers alone show exactly how inexperienced the Buckeyes are at that specific position this upcoming year.
Ohio State lost Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller from its wide receiver room following last season. And with Noah Brown, Corey Smith, Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson — the top-four expected pass catchers for the Buckeyes this year — all either out or limited, spring practice had its fair share of inconsistencies.
But while many of the players Ohio State will rely on in the fall weren’t on the field in the spring, several other wide receivers were presented with an opportunity to play themselves into the rotation.
"I had a number of guys, really my whole group had a great spring," wide receivers coach Zach Smith said Wednesday. "It was different. I've never had that scenario, but I went into spring with a plan, kind of put accountability on those kids to keep them engaged."
There’s no question the Buckeyes have an abundance of talent at wide receiver, but just about all of it is unproven. Parris Campbell, James Clark, Austin Mack, Torrance Gibson, Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin and K.J. Hill are the names you’ve surely heard all spring and they are seven potential contributors for the Buckeyes this season. All of them likely can’t play — when you add in the four missing that brings the total to 11 wide receivers; that’s a ton for a rotation — so this spring was important for each and every one to try and move up the ladder.
In the spring game, you saw flashes of that potential. Campbell and McLaurin each had a few nice catches. Gibson scored a pair of touchdowns. Mack and Dixon made a few plays, as well. There was plenty of opportunity and Ohio State’s wide receivers certainly did what they could to impress.
Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer needed to see that.
“What I liked best is the fact I saw some guys perform,” he said. “Parris Campbell had to make that catch at the end of the game. … You do that in practice, it’s not that big of a deal. He has to do that in a game and I saw him do it.”
With the Buckeyes expected to have Brown, Smith, Samuel and Wilson full-go when fall camp rolls around, it remains unclear at this time how much the other Ohio State receivers figure into the equation. The pecking order for those additional six guys is also a mystery right now.
Any time a player or coach was asked about which young wide receiver had turned some heads during spring practice, it seemed like a different answer was given. That means there’s quite a bit of talented playmakers, but it also means the Buckeyes didn’t get any closer to figuring out a rotation.
Maybe they'll try and play them all; who really knows?
There are no shortage of options for Smith, Meyer, quarterback J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State offense. The biggest questions now are who emerges as legitimate playmakers and how will the Buckeyes best utilize those players.
