Spring 2019 Overview: Expanded receivers from the state of Ohio include a strong combination of returning veterans and promising young talents



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While spring football is due to start at Ohio State on March 4, Eleven Warriors is examining more and more the composition of the Buckeyes' formation at the beginning of practice.

With departures of Captains Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon from last season, Ohio State has huge shoes to fill at the receiver station.

Nevertheless, the position of the wide receiver seems to be one of the strongest positions of the Buckeyes in 2019, this spring.

Under the leadership of three seniors who have been regular recipients for at least two years, the state of Ohio should have another group of senior leaders. The Buckeyes also have many talented young receivers who could be ready for the escape seasons if they can win one of the free places in the depth chart.

After an excellent season in 2018, we take a closer look at Brian Hartline's position group that could still be filled with game creators in our spring overview of Ohio State Wide Receivers.

What we know

Even though Campbell, McLaurin and Dixon are all gone, Ohio State still starts in 2019 with plenty of experience at the wide receiver.

The leader of the pack is K. J. Hill, who has been one of the top two receivers of the Buckeyes in the last two seasons. He had 142 receptions for 1,676 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career, leaving him with just over 50 lures to break the Ohio State's state school record for receptions. As a fifth year senior, Hill should be the target of choice for the Buckeyes and their starting backcourt.

Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor are also entering their senior season after a rotation to receiver X for the past two years. Mack, whose 2018 season was interrupted after eight games due to a foot operation, captured 52 career passes for 689 yards and three touchdowns, while Victor had 48 for 767 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Binjimen Victor

Binjimen Victor is one of the seniors who are expected to lead the Ohio State Home Corps this year.

C.J. Saunders, a former bursar who has played occasionally in the slot over the past two seasons, is giving the Buckeyes four seniors at the post.

Chris Olave joined the Buckeyes' six-man squad over the last six games of last season, following Mack's injury. The real freshmen made their mark in the season, scoring 12 passes for 197 yards, including a pair of touchdowns. against Michigan and another against Northwestern at the Big Ten Championship Game.

In total, the Buckeyes will have 11 fellows on campus for spring practice, including sophomores Redshirt Ellijah Gardiner and Jaylen Harris, freshmen Kamryn Babb, Jaelen Gill and Christian "Blue" Smith and the enrolled youth early Garrett Wilson.

What we do not know

Wide alignment of spring receivers from the Ohio State

No.

first name

Ht.

Weight

Year

Hometown (High School)

9

BINJIMEN VICTOR

6-4

200

SR

Pompano Beach, Florida (Coconut Creek)

11

AUSTIN MACK

6-2

215

SR

Fort Wayne, Indiana (Bishop Luers)

14

K.J. COLLINE

6-0

198

RS SR

Little Rock, Arkansas (North Little Rock)

15

JAYLEN HARRIS

6-5

215

RS SO

Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Heights)

17

KAMRYN BABB

6-0

200

RS FR

St. Louis, Missouri (Christian Brothers College)

19

CHRIS OLAVE

6-1

175

SO

San Marcos, California (Mission Hills)

20

DARRYL SINCLAIR

5-9

195

JR

Solon, Ohio (Solon)

23

FROM SHAWN WHITE

5-9

172

JR

Canton, Ohio (McKinley)

24

SAM WIGLUSZ

6-0

175

SO

Brecksville, Ohio (Brecksville-Bridgeview Heights)

26

JAELEN GILL

6-0

185

RS FR

Westerville, Ohio (South)

35

AUSTIN KUTSCHER

6-1

185

SO

Massillon, Ohio (Washington)

80

C.J. SAUNDERS

5-10

185

SR

Dublin, Ohio (Coffman)

82

GARYN PRATER

6-4

208

JR

Wyoming, Ohio (Wyoming)

85

CHRISTIAN SMITH

6-4

207

RS FR

Huber Heights, Ohio (Wayne)

87

ELLIJAH GARDINER

6-3

196

RS SO

Kemp, Texas (Kemp)

GARRETT WILSON

6-1

180

EN

Austin, Texas (Lake Travis)

It can be assumed that Hill, Mack and Victor will all play a leading role in Ohio State's wide receivers rotation this season, and Olave seems to be a sure bet to play an important role in this position as well, which should leave some places in the ranking. rotation to win for the rest of the Buckeyes receivers.

With many talented but unproven receivers ready to compete for these positions, there are many questions as to how the Ohio State Depth Map could pile up in 2019.

Is Saunders a viable candidate to play a bigger role in rotating slots receivers as a senior? Are Harris and Gardiner willing to make a meaningful contribution after the quiet start of their careers? Will Gill and Smith be ready to start the rotation now that they have been with the team for a season? Can Babb return to his previous form after tearing each of his ACLs two years in a row? Wilson, the only five-star rookie in the group, is he too talented to stay in the field as a real freshman?

We should start answering all these questions this spring.

It is not certain whether Mack or Babb are still fully recovered from their injuries, but they both participate in winter fitness with their teammates and should be out in the field this spring.

It is also possible, with Hartline in his first full year as a wide-receiver coach and Ryan Day in his first season as head coach, that the Buckeyes deviate from the rotation of six players they have used in recent years. Given its effectiveness last year and the number of talents that Buckeyes have at this position, it seems unlikely, however, that they choose to completely abandon the rotation.

Players to watch

The most intriguing wide receiver to watch this spring will be Wilson, who will start at the bottom of the list of depths as a newcomer, but he is a very real candidate for winning a strong spring in an immediate place in the rotation. The talented five-star native of Austin, Texas, has demonstrated exceptional ball play ability during his career at Lake Travis High School, and this skill could make him a revolutionary player. It will depend, however, on how quickly he tackles the subtleties of Hartline's wide receiver game and how he will meet his opposition to collegiate competition this spring.

Gill, rookie No. 30 in the 2018 promotion, is another prime candidate in the Ohio State's receptive teams this season. He only saw the field twice last season, but he is an explosive and unstable athlete who has the tools to be the double threat to receive and run that the Buckeyes did not have in the back position since Curtis Samuel. However, he needs to show his development this spring to prove that he is part of the pack in 2019.

Babb is another talented youngster who has shown his star potential in high school, but he has to prove that he can get back into shape and stay healthy before he can seriously look for a place in the rotation. If he manages to return to top gear this spring, he will have the skills to climb the ladder of depth and gain a role in the offensive during his first season.

Kamryn Babb

If healthy, Kamryn Babb will be a wide receiver to watch this spring.

Position the perspectives

Given that Hill is locked in the starter training and is a proven commodity, the state of Ohio is likely to limit its representatives this spring to keep it healthy and cool for the first time. spring. The Buckeyes are likely to bring Mack back into action, and Victor could also ease his workload.

While Victor and Mack may still have room to improve and the Buckeyes will want their more experienced receivers to bond with their group of inexperienced quarterbacks, the youngest receivers will really be under the microscope this spring in their struggle for position. on the depth map.

Olave will enter the spring as a favorite to start at the Z receiver, alongside Mack and Victor. It is possible that the Buckeyes could move Mack or Victor to Z position to bring them simultaneously to the field, but in any case, they will have many candidates eager to find a place in the rotation of external receivers.

Harris should be in line for a spot in the rotation at this point, but he and Mack are best placed to play in X, while Wilson is expected to quickly climb the depth chart and push Olave into Z. Babb (if in good Smith and Gardiner will also attempt to qualify for the outdoor catcher position. Jameson Williams, a four-star freshman, is expected to join the Buckeyes this summer.

Hill should play the majority of the cliches in the slot in 2019, no matter who is in the rotation, but the competition between Saunders and Gill will also be watching this spring. Saunders is the most experienced polite slots receiver, which could make it the favorite for a spin from the spring, but Gill offers a more dynamic skill set that could add a different dimension to the offense.

Regardless of how these battles unfold, the good news for the Buckeyes is that they have plenty of candidates to become wide-open players this year and could potentially have more receivers. proving their membership on the field as playing time available.

Depth chart projected

Receiver X
1. Austin Mack
2. Victor Binjimen
3. Jaylen Harris

Z receiver
1. Chris Olave
2. Garrett Wilson
3. Kamryn Babb

Slot Receiver / H-Back
1. K.J. Hill
2. C.J. Saunders
3. Jaelen Gill

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