It’s easy to forget sometimes in sports that stats are only a data point.
They can help tell whether an athlete performed well in a game. Especially advanced analytics. The grades that Ohio State gives its players, the ones Ryan Day references when he says someone “graded out a champion,” are very helpful to coaches in determining how well everybody is performing.
But the ones that draw the eyes of fans? Those can be misleading sometimes. Like in basketball, sometimes fans or media or others just watch how many points a player scored and form their opinions of that player based on that data point alone. In that vein, Brian Hartline was impressed with Brandon Inniss’ play against Ohio this past Saturday, even though he had no catches or even a target out of the slot.
“Those elite basketball players talk about, to take a shot, it takes one or two seconds,” Hartline said on Tuesday. “So to let 10 seconds, five missed shots, impact 30 minutes of play, it's just a small-minded approach. So even though there may not be a catch, the impact of getting the right blocks and being in the right spots and everything that we do ultimately dictates whether you have a good game or not.”
Inniss is off to a slow start in his receiving stats through three games, with just five catches for 37 yards. But he’s impacting the game for Ohio State in other ways. And there’s no better judge of that than Hartline, the best receivers coach in the country.
“I think Brandon's done a great job,” Hartline said. “I think he's a guy that, whatever his job description is, he's done it at a high level. So again, as we're being multiple, as we talk about the tight ends, as we talk about Brandon, I mean, he's able to do a lot of different things. So his role is going to change constantly based on defenses and what they do. But anything we ask him to do, he does at a high level.”
There’s a reason Inniss was voted a team captain this offseason by his teammates. Leadership isn’t just vocalizing, though he is a powerful voice in the locker room. It’s setting an example for others, even when the ball isn’t coming your way.
Inniss’ blocking and route running set up Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate to have the 100-yard receiving performances they had against the Bobcats. Take this beautiful play, where Tate goes from an orbit motion into a swing pass. Inniss is given a particularly tough blocking assignment. He has to track star Ohio cornerback Tank Pearson from nine yards off the ball and an outside alignment opposite Smith from his slot position. Inniss executes perfectly, sealing off Pearson to give Tate a lane, which he bursts through for a 10-yard pickup.
Those plays are winning plays, even if they go unrecognized in the box score.
“When you have 110 yards on five catches, but you had a lot of MAs (missed assignments), you did not have a good football game,” Hartline said. “Even though everybody wants to praise you. But that's not how this is built. Ultimately, we are judged by, at least individually, we are judged on doing things others don't do, right? You're able to do it, and so is he, then you're replaceable. So ultimately, you're trying to do things that the other guys can't do or won't do or haven't done.”
Inniss also showed growth as a return man on special teams after failing to field a few punts against Grambling State that cost the Buckeyes field position in Week 2. Not only did he have to snag some fair catches on the run or in traffic, but he broke off a 28-yard punt return that set up Ohio State for a touchdown drive.
Ohio’s last kickoff before the half bounced in front of Inniss, and he had to eat the ball to pin Ohio State at its own 11-yard line, but on that play, he was the victim of an odd hop. He did the right thing to let the ball bounce as it landed within feet of the sideline at the 8-yard line, then avoided the risk of a Bobcat recovery.
Inniss set the table for Smith to snag his 47-yard touchdown reception, as his over route sucked Ohio’s deep safety down toward the line of scrimmage and left Smith one-on-one on his post route. Julian Sayin delivered a nice ball and Smith made the play.
“We brought Carnell in the backfield, the safety spun,” Day said. “The middle field safety kind of found himself towards the line of scrimmage, tried to fight his way to get back. Brandon caught his attention, and we got behind him on that play.”
Sayin Smith
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 14, 2025
Jeremiah Smith reels in Julian Sayin's deep ball to extend No. 1 @OhioStateFB's lead.
: Peacock pic.twitter.com/9BONayPPA4
There were chances to get Inniss some receiving production, too, though Sayin targeted others on those plays. The receiver came open off a motion near the goal line that would have scored a touchdown on one of Ohio State's failed red zone trips, but Sayin went to other reads first.
Ohio State's heavy use of tight ends this season is another factor limiting chances for Inniss. The Buckeyes are deploying more 12 and 13 personnel than ever before under Day through three games this season, and Inniss has snap counts of 23, 16 and 32 as a result.
Hartline has confidence that Inniss' time for targets will come. But he's a core piece of Ohio State's offense regardless.
“Brandon's done a great job in his job description, regardless of where the targets have been,” Hartline said. “And that's got to continue. And obviously, that's going to change over time. It's just, it's Ohio State's offense. It's always going to be the Ohio State's offense. So the slot is always a big part of what we do.”
