After last year’s rash of injuries, Ohio State will try and create depth throughout the whole roster. One position where you wouldn’t expect much of that is wide receiver, but new offensive coordinator, Brian Hartline, wants to have multiple players ready to go.
When Jaxon Smith-Njigba went down in the season opener and wasn’t able to get right, he eventually sat out the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury. This wasn’t the only time a recent Buckeye star has gotten hurt and then missed their final season — see Nick Bosa.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsThe receiver group has plenty of firepower, but they’re all upperclassmen. Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming could all leave, and reloading the position is something Hartline wants to do this year.
When asked about the receiver depth, he mentioned that the group is six or seven deep. Hear from Hartline below.
Hartline said the Buckeyes are "a good six-seven deep right now."
"The four-five-six is much better than it was this time last year."
When asked who those six or seven guys are, Hartline had three words.
"It's a secret." pic.twitter.com/jUva1k3KxL
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) March 28, 2023
We know the first three-plus Xavier Johnson, but the remaining three to four are unknown. There is some hype around Jayden Ballard and early enrolling freshman Carnell Tate has already lost his black stripe in record-breaking time.
At this moment it’s just a guess as to who will make their mark on one of the deepest position groups in the country, but you feel pretty good about there being plenty of options.
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