The connection between a quarterback and his wide receivers is one of the most important in all of football. The two positions must be on the same page, almost at all times.
Developing the chemistry required for that, however, takes time. Time is something Ohio State doesn't have a ton of right now. The Buckeyes have just under a month to get everything worked out.
J.T. Barrett is Ohio State’s starting quarterback; there is no disputing that this season. What we don’t know — at least not yet, anyway — is the other part of that equation: Who will catch passes from the redshirt junior signal caller?
There are options, of course, but as we’ve often discussed with the 2016 version of the Buckeyes, many of them are inexperienced options. With Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller now gone to the NFL, Ohio State is without its top-three pass catchers at the wide receiver position from the 2015 season.
This will be almost an entirely new group of pass catchers for Barrett.
“I’ve just got to keep working on getting on time and just getting [the ball] out as fast I can,” Barrett said Sunday following Ohio State’s first practice of fall camp. “I want to get it in their hands and let them do what they do and that’s make plays.”
Though inexperienced, there is certainly a bundle of potential playmakers at wide receiver for Ohio State. Talent doesn't seem to be the issue here.
Curtis Samuel is the team’s leading returning receiver. The junior from Brooklyn, New York hauled in 22 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns last season as a sophomore. But Samuel isn’t a true wide receiver; he’ll split his time this season between the slot and running back. Dontre Wilson, who like Samuel is a slot receiver/running back, is the team’s second-leading returner in receptions with seven.
The Buckeyes seem set in the slot with those two. But as far as the outside receiver positions go, that’s anybody’s guess. Corey Smith and Johnnie Dixon are the only two players vying for time at those spots who caught passes in 2015, and the two of them combined for just six receptions.
Noah Brown, Parris Campbell, James Clark, Terry McLaurin, K.J. Hill, Torrance Gibson and Austin Mack are all names we’ve heard at various points this offseason — and many of them will certainly be counted on this fall — but none have made any sort of real impact on the field for Ohio State in games thus far.
That’s why fall camp is so crucial for Barrett. He must use this time to develop chemistry with a bunch of players he’s never played with before in games.
“I have to understand the spacing of things,” Barrett said. “The passing game is all spacing and timing so understanding spacing and then understanding the timing. Whether it’s an in-breaking route or whatever, let them understand like, ‘Hey, you’ve got time to work because we have another route right here so you don’t have to rush into it.’
“Things like that, for example, those are things I try to help with.”
Never give an inch. @Nb_Eight0 #TheEdgehttps://t.co/wgoI6XQa00
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 8, 2016
Despite the lack of experience playing together, Barrett said he already has a strong connection with Brown — the projected No. 1 wide receiver for the Buckeyes who missed all of last season due to injury.
"Noah, I trust that if a guy is on top of Noah that I can just put it anywhere around Noah and Noah is going to get it. I feel like Noah has my back and when the ball is in the air, it’s his," Barrett said. "Sometimes the young guys, they still have to develop that and that’s still technique type of stuff. I know with Noah and Corey they have that mentality like, ‘When the ball is in the air, it’s mine — especially when it’s in their area.’ That’s a good thing to have.”
The Buckeyes leaned heavily on Ezekiel Elliott and the running game in 2015 as their passing offense struggled. Ohio State ranked just 12th in the Big Ten in passing offense and was 100th nationally at 188.8 yards per game. That number will need to improve significantly in 2016.
The Buckeyes’ passing game almost certainly won’t be a finished product by the time the season opener rolls around Sept. 3. It’s going to take time and it may not reach its maximum operating level until the middle of the season.
But Barrett feels confident Ohio State’s aerial attack and his chemistry with the wide receivers will be good enough by the end of all camp.
“The way we practice, it’s not easy by any means so I think with the reps that we have in place, that coach Meyer is going to get us, I think we’ll be able to be ready,” Barrett said. “The guys are going to stand out there the first snap when we’re playing Bowling Green and will be ready and I’m going to have confidence in them.”
