Through the first eight games of Ohio State’s 2021 season, the Buckeyes’ top three wide receivers have played just about every snap with the first-team offense.
Unlike in past years, when the Buckeyes have rotated as many as six receivers in and out of the lineup, Ohio State has relied almost exclusively on its three starting wide receivers this season. Chris Olave has played 419 snaps, Garrett Wilson has played 412 snaps and Jaxon Smith-Njigba has played 349 snaps; no other Buckeye wideout has been on the field for more than 106 offensive plays.
That will change on Saturday against Nebraska.
Wilson is unavailable for Saturday’s game, opening the door for another wideout — likely Marvin Harrison Jr. or Emeka Egbuka, or possibly Julian Fleming — to start for the first time this season. Presumably, Ohio State could choose to rotate two of those receivers in Wilson’s place on Saturday, giving multiple receivers the chance to play their most significant offensive snaps of the season.
Egbuka is Ohio State’s fourth-leading wide receiver with six catches for 145 yards this season, while he’s also flashed lots of big-play ability as a kickoff returner — he currently leads the nation with an average of 35.2 yards per kickoff return — so the five-star true freshman might be the frontrunner to make his first career start in Lincoln.
Harrison is another strong candidate, as he’s played the fourth-most snaps among wide receivers (106 compared to Egbuka’s 94). He made a big impression in his most recent offensive playing time at Indiana, where he caught two passes for 34 yards, wowed his teammates with an open-field spin move, made a tackle for a safety on a botched punt and graded out as a champion for the first time in his Ohio State career.
spin cycle @MarvHarrisonJr #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/7QG2KKaR0K
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 27, 2021
Whether Fleming factors into Saturday’s rotation could depend on his health, as he hasn’t played a single offensive snap in any of Ohio State’s last five games after suffering a hamstring injury against Tulsa. Fleming appeared on Ohio State’s kickoff return team for two plays against Penn State, though, and Brian Hartline indicated this week that Fleming is healthy enough to play.
“I think he’s feeling a lot better now and we’ll see what this week holds,” Hartline said Tuesday.
All three of those young receivers entered the 2021 season with plenty of hype, but the consistent excellence of Wilson, Smith-Njigba and Olave – who have combined for 113 receptions, 1,897 receiving yards and 18 touchdown catches through eight games – have kept Ohio State’s other wideouts off the field.
Hartline said Tuesday that the lack of rotation among the wideouts this year has been because of how well Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba have played, not because he doesn’t believe in the other wide receivers’ ability to contribute.
“Being a former player, knowing where I was as a junior and senior, I didn’t want to come off the field,” Hartline said. “And to me, I think it’s past that. If I’m pulling a player off the field, you have to come in and compete at that exact same level or I’m doing a disservice to the O-line, the running back, the quarterback. That’s not fair. And it’s nothing on any player. … It’s more kudos to the guys that are just there.”
Hartline also foreshadowed the situation that’s now set to play out on Saturday, however, when he expressed confidence that other wide receivers would be ready to step up if an injury occurred.
“If we ever get banged-up, we’ll see,” Hartline said. “To this point, we’ve been pretty darn healthy, but I know we’re gonna need all those guys to do this the right way. With the path we’re supposed to be on, something will show up, and we’ll be ready to go.”
As of Saturday morning, it’s unclear why Wilson is unavailable to play against Nebraska and what the timetable will be for his return. Ohio State will certainly hope to have him back on the field as soon as possible, as he’s one of the Buckeyes’ top playmakers and one of the best wide receivers in the country.
For at least one game, though, at least one wide receiver not named Wilson, Olave or Smith-Njigba will have the opportunity to see extended playing time with the starters in Wilson’s place. They’ll have big and important shoes to fill as the Buckeyes look to maintain their status as the nation’s top-ranked offense, and they’re all unproven, as none of the other wide receivers on Ohio State’s roster have even 10 career catches.
But the promise Egbuka and Harrison have shown in limited action and the five-star pedigree of Fleming give Ohio State plenty of reason for optimism that it will still have three elite receivers on the field on Saturday no matter which wideout – or wideouts – take Wilson’s spot in the lineup.
