All of Ohio State’s best receivers in recent years have followed a similar path to superstardom: Making an immediate impression as freshmen before establishing themselves as elite players as sophomores.
Chris Olave broke out in the second half of his freshman year in 2018, highlighted by his two-touchdown performance against Michigan, before emerging as Ohio State’s top wideout in 2019. Garrett Wilson immediately became a regular in Ohio State’s rotation in 2019 before becoming one of the Buckeyes’ biggest stars for the next two years.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s opportunities to play as a freshman were limited with the 2020 season being shortened. However, he immediately announced his presence by making a ridiculous touchdown catch against Nebraska in his first-ever game as a Buckeye. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka showed star potential as freshmen in 2021 before becoming two of college football’s best wide receivers in 2022.
On the other hand, the four wide receivers from Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class barely saw the field as freshmen last season.
Kaleb Brown caught just one pass for five yards, while Kyion Grayes caught only one pass for two yards. Kojo Antwi did not catch any passes in his five appearances, while Caleb Burton did not play at all.
The talent at the top of the wide receiver depth chart played a big part in their lack of playing time. When Hartline was asked at Ohio State’s media day before the Peach Bowl why those four receivers didn’t play much as freshmen, he referenced the high standard set by the starting trio of Harrison, Egbuka and Julian Fleming.
“If one guy’s coming off the field, you have to be able to do with that person did, or I’m putting the offense at a disadvantage. So until that happens, the best player’s always gonna play,” Hartline said.
A loaded starting lineup of Olave, Wilson and Smith-Njigba didn’t stop Harrison and Egbuka from starting to put their skills on display as freshmen one year before. From Egbuka’s vantage point, though, it took this past season’s crop of freshman receivers longer to get acclimated to playing at Ohio State than it did for him and Harrison.
“They started off a little slower than we'd like them to,” Egbuka said in an interview session before the Peach Bowl. “But a lot of leaders stepped up on the team and kind of nipped that in the bud. And it was like, ‘Hey, you know, it's time to get going,’ type thing.”
That said, Egbuka said the younger receivers started “building a lot of momentum” during bowl practices in December. Harrison saw similar progression, which he attributed to them becoming more comfortable with the playbook – a process that he said took him most of his freshman year, too.
“I was talking to Coach yesterday, and he was like, ‘When did you finally learn the whole playbook?’ It was probably toward the end of my freshman year. That’s right where they're at right now. I kind of figured everything out,” Harrison said before the Peach Bowl. “So they’re definitely learning. That's probably the biggest thing. Once you've learned the whole playbook, you start playing fast and free.”
During a press conference in November, Hartline pushed back against the notion that the then-freshman receivers were behind schedule, saying it’s “mind-blowing” to him that players are now scrutinized if they don’t play as freshmen. He pointed to former Ohio State receivers Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell as examples of receivers who went on to become stars for the Buckeyes even though they didn’t play as freshmen and said every player has his own path.
He said before the Peach Bowl that the four receivers in the 2022 class all needed time to grow into playing bigger roles but that he was pleased with the progress he saw for the year.
“I think that young players always need to continue to mature in game speed, game understanding, the game within the game, if you will,” Hartline said. “I think we have some young guys that are putting in the effort, and the maturation will continue.”
Based on their playing time as freshmen, Antwi and Brown appear to be the closest of those four receivers to contributing for the Buckeyes. Ohio State opted to play each of them in five games rather than redshirt them, as they each played 27 snaps on offense and saw action on special teams. Their emergence as the most ready-to-play receivers in the class was notable, considering they were both summer enrollees while Grayes and Burton were early enrollees.
Brown was the first of the receivers in his class to have his black stripe removed, which Hartline said was because “he was the guy that we felt showed the most consistency.” Egbuka – who was chosen to be Brown’s “big brother” on the team – was also impressed by what he saw from Brown during his freshman year.
“It's fun to see him work in practice. He makes a lot of big plays. And he's very dynamic, very shifty,” Egbuka said of Brown.
Antwi impressed Hartline in year one with his physicality on the practice field. Hartline said the biggest area in which Antwi had to grow as a freshman was his understanding of the game, but he felt Antwi was starting to hit his stride by the end of his freshman year.
“I told him I think it’s harder because he came in June. So you get off a little slower start through the summer. You're hitting fall camp, and you didn't have the spring that maybe some other guys did. So you're kind of behind the 8-ball,” Hartline said. “But it's how well you can grow through the season, and I think he's done a great job.”
Burton, considering he didn’t play at all, was seemingly the furthest away of the four freshman receivers from contributing last season. He made strides late in the year, though, as he had his black stripe removed in December and drew praise from C.J. Stroud when Ohio State’s quarterback was asked before the Peach Bowl which backup receivers impressed him during bowl practices.
“Caleb Burton has done a hell of a job,” Stroud said. “He's gotten a lot better.”
The path to playing time won’t get any easier for those four receivers in year two. Harrison, Egbuka and Fleming are all back this season. So are Xavier Johnson and Jayden Ballard, the only other wide receivers who played over 100 snaps in 2022. The second-year receivers will face even more competition from a new class of freshman receivers that includes three prospects – Brandon Inniss, Noah Rogers and Carnell Tate – who were higher-rated recruits than any of Ohio State’s receiver signees from the previous cycle.
If any of the second-year receivers are going to earn their way into the wide receiver rotation this season, they’ll need to continue to impress their coaches and teammates this offseason. That’s Hartline’s message to all of his backup receivers as they look to earn playing time on a loaded depth chart.
“I think right now, in the offseason program, the biggest thing is, and I'll just share it with you, is that as of right now, you should be trying to impress your peers,” Hartline said on Feb. 1. “Your peers know. Players know. By trying to impress your peers, that means everything, right? Being on time, if not early; how you work, how you communicate; if you're up front, you're not in front; all those things matter.
“And I think by doing that, you'll probably in turn impress (director of sports performance Mickey Marotti) because coach Mick knows what it looks like, he runs the program, he's really the facilitator of all culture at Ohio State. And if you can impress him, you're on the right track. I've never seen a guy impress coach Mick and not be on the field. So do that. And then obviously the coaches. So if you keep your mindset on, again, impress your peers because those peers are hard to impress, the byproduct will probably be to impress coach Mick, and then your coaches will be impressed. The rest will take care of itself.”