With a commitment from four-star 2022 wide receiver Kojo Antwi earlier this week, the buzz surrounding the future, depth and potential of Brian Hartline's position room is at an all-time high.
And hey, that makes a hell of a lot of sense when you consider Antwi (No. 115 overall) gives Hartline a 2022 receiver crop featuring four guys, all in the top 151 overall prospects.
Joining Antwi as four-star commits in the 2022 class are Kaleb Brown (No. 60 overall) and Kyion Graves (No. 151). The class is headlined by five-star Caleb Burton (No. 33 overall).
The embarrassment of riches also includes three 2021 guys in Emeka Egbuka (No. 9 overall), Marvin Harrison Jr. (No. 96 overall) and Jayden Ballard (No. 98 overall) and of course a 2020 crop headlined by the nation's No. 3 prospect in Julian Fleming and the No. 29 player in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
That tallies up to five four-stars and four five-stars (lol) with the lowest ranked guy clocking in at No. 151 overall in his class.
What's hilarious is most of that talk doesn't even focus on the now which is in pretty good hands with returning stars Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
Equally hysterical, Olave is the lowest rated dude in Hartline's room, clocking in at No. 399 overall in the 2018 class, yet he's basically the top returning receiver in all of college football. Wilson was a blue chip however, ranked as the No. 20 overall prospect in the 2019 class.
Make no mistake, stars matter but the numbers that matter most are production on Saturdays.
Wilson and Olave have that going for them in spades.
Olave was already a proven commodity heading into the 2020 season after going off for 49 catches, 849 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019, leading the squad in receiving yards, touchdowns and yards per catch. Wilson's 2019 wasn't shocking but still notable as the then-true freshman went for 30 receptions, 432 yards and five touchdowns while showcasing elite body control and hands.
Those numbers set the stage for impressive 2021 production from the pair despite playing in a pandemic-shortened season.
For his part, Olave posted a ridiculous 50 catches for 729 yards and seven scores in seven games. He went for over 100 yards in five of eight games including a 6-for-132 with two touchdowns night during a revenge-performance against Clemson in a College Football Playoff semifinal. His season highs came against Michigan State via a 10-catch, 139-yard effort.
Wilson played one extra game, racking up 43 receptions for 723 yards and six touchdowns but his season was surprisingly uneven. The 6-foot, 188-pounder out of Lake Travis in Austin, Texas averaged an electric 128.3 receiving yards over the first four contests but fell off to just 52.5 spanning the final four games.
| SPAN | RECEPTIONS | RECEIVING YARDS | YARDS PER CATCH | REC YARDS PER GAME | TOUCHDOWNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAMES 1-4 | 31 | 513 | 16.5 | 128.3 | 4 |
| GAMES 5-8 | 12 | 210 | 17.5 | 52.5 | 2 |
Wilson's 2020 production, lopsided or not, came mostly from the slot after playing his more-natural outside receiver position in 2019. But even with the inconsistent output - with a nod to the reality averaging 128.3 yards over the first four games wasn't necessarily sustainable - Wilson was on pace for a memorable 2020 if not for the shortened season. Similarly, Olave was tracking toward even greater heights.
Extrapolate those shortened 2020 numbers out to a full season and holy smokes, you've got some historical production. Our own Dan Hope took a look at the production Wilson, Olave and others projected to generate if they stayed on their current path during a full 15-game season. Yes, there's variables to such an exercise but it hardly seems unreasonable to think the pass catching pair wouldn't have come close to these numbers.
Chris Olave
| Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACTUAL STATS (7 GAMES) | 50 | 729 | 7 |
| PROJECTED 15-GAME STATS | 107 | 1,562 | 15 |
Simply put, Olave was on pace to break the single-season school records for both receptions (Parris Campbell, 90 in 2018) and receiving yards (David Boston, 1,435 in 1998).
Garrett Wilson
| Rec | Rec Yds | Rec TD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACTUAL STATS (8 GAMES) | 43 | 723 | 6 |
| PROJECTED 15-GAME STATS | 81 | 1,356 | 11 |
Wilson wasn't on as maniacal a pace but 81 for 1,356 would've been the fourth-best respective marks in school history, assuming Olave kept his own pace.
Not only that, had both played 15 games (or even less), they would've become the first Ohio State receiving duo to record at least 1,000 yards in the same season.
Think about that for a second. Yes, offense has evolved quite a bit in college football and certainly at Ohio State over the years but being the first to do just about anything at the Columbus football factory would be noteworthy.
Heading into the 2021 season, it sure feels like Olave and Wilson are poised to make history. The gold standards, as highlighted by our Kevin Harrish back in May, aren't too shabby.
The 1998 pair of Boston and Dee Miller stand as the most-prolific to-date as Boston went for 1,435 yards and Miller 915.
In 2018, Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill made a run at greatness with Campbell logging 1,063 yards and Hill 885.
Back to Boston and Miller, the duo posted 970 and 981 yards, respectively, in 1997, setting the stage for the even more impressive '98 campaign.
Thinking about the 2021 offense, and whether or not Olave and Wilson can make history, one huge variable to consider is the starting quarterback.
Boston and Miller had a still-emerging Joe Germaine in 1997 before he continued his maturation into a surgeon-like thrower in '98. Campbell and Hill had a Heisman finalist in Dwayne Haskins slinging the rock in 2018.
This fall, Wilson and Olave are depending on either C.J. Stroud or Kyle McCord to deliver as they create separation from defenders. There's reason to believe one of the two will prove to be the truth, or at least respectably capable of taking advantage of throwing to the best receiving duo in college football.
With the offensive line poised to be great and the running game figuring to be no worse than slightly above average depending on what unproven guys like Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson can do to push it over the top, again, things seem to set up for Olave and Wilson to make history. Yes, Hartline will want to rotate depth where he can but it's hard to envision him pulling Olave and Wilson off the field too often before they get theirs on any given Saturday.
Accomplishments like having a pair of receivers go for 1,000 yards in a single season might be easy to take for granted in the golden era of Buckeye football but be wise and take the time to appreciate what should be a never-before-seen year turned in by two elite talents.
