Chris Henry Jr.’s potential to be Ohio State’s next superstar wide receiver was on full display in his first spring game as a Buckeye.
Ohio State fans got their first opportunity to watch Henry play at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, and the five-star freshman wideout didn’t disappoint. Henry led all Buckeyes in yards from scrimmage with four catches for 96 yards, including a pair of deep-ball grabs on throws from Tavien St. Clair, one of which went for the day’s only passing touchdown from 40 yards out.
Welcome to The 'Shoe Chris Henry Jr @ChrisHenryJr | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/0NS178pHbn
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 18, 2026
TSC to CHJ for six
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 18, 2026
Big Ten Network pic.twitter.com/OPow9dkZta
From the day Henry committed to Ohio State nearly three years ago before his sophomore year of high school, there’s always been an expectation that Henry would be a future star at Ohio State. When the Buckeyes ponied up extra NIL money to fend off late efforts from Oregon and Texas to flip Henry during the early signing period, the expectation that Henry would make an immediate impact for Ohio State in 2026 became even clearer.
For much of the spring, Henry was overshadowed by the other receivers competing to start alongside Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss this season. LSU transfer wide receiver Kyle Parker was the first player to lose his black stripe this spring. Brock Boyd lost his black stripe just one practice later, becoming the third-fastest freshman ever (behind only Smith and Carnell Tate) to lose his black stripe. UTSA transfer wide receiver Devin McCuin was a frequent standout in practices open to the media, particularly Student Appreciation Day, and got the start alongside Smith and Inniss in the spring game.
The highest-upside option for Ohio State’s 2026 receiving corps, however, has always been for Henry to realize his immense potential quickly and emerge as Ohio State’s second starter on the outside opposite Smith. Other than Smith, there aren’t many receivers in all of college football with higher ceilings than Henry, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound wideout who was ranked as the No. 2 wide receiver in the 247Sports composite for the 2026 recruiting class.
While McCuin and Parker took most of the reps alongside Smith and Inniss with the first-team offense this spring, Ryan Day implied earlier this spring that the door remained wide open for Henry to be an immediate starter this season if he continued to develop the way Ohio State believed he would.
“He has to have the mentality that he wants to play from day one, and that he's starting in the first game. That should be his goal,” Day said on March 31. “Now whether he does or not, we'll see. But he has all the traits, he has all the skills. Everything that we thought he would be in recruiting, we've seen on the field.”
Ryan Day said Chris Henry Jr.s goal should be to become a Day 1 starter for the Buckeyes.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 31, 2026
He has all the traits. He has all the skills, Day said. Everything we thought he would be in recruiting we've seen on the field, so that's exciting. pic.twitter.com/CqxxS00ryf
Two-and-a-half weeks later, that goal seems more realistic than ever. Henry had his black stripe removed on Wednesday, making him one of just two freshmen (along with Boyd) to shed his black stripe this spring. He backed that up with the top individual performance of any Buckeye in the spring’s final showcase, which showcased his ability to beat defensive backs deep with his speed as well as his ability to adjust to the ball in the air and make clean catches.
Henry will have to build on that performance in summer workouts and preseason camp to ultimately earn the starting job, as McCuin, Parker and Boyd are all legitimate contenders for significant playing time in Ohio State’s receiver rotation this year, too. Starting at Ohio State as a freshman wide receiver is a rarity; while Smith became an immediate superstar for Ohio State as a freshman two years ago, all of the other recent stars in “Zone 6” – including first-round picks Tate, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave – have started their careers as backups before breaking out later in their freshman seasons or as sophomores.
While Smith had already become a fixture in the first-team rotation by the end of his first spring as a Buckeye, Henry took many of his reps with the second-team unit this spring, so he’ll have to prove himself in more consistent first-team action, which will likely come in August. He still has plenty of room to develop before he’ll reach his ultimate potential, particularly as a route runner.
But Henry’s size, speed and contested catch ability could go a long way toward filling the void in Ohio State’s receiver lineup left by the departure of Tate, who’s projected to be a top-10 pick in next week’s NFL draft. And Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is excited about what Henry could bring to the Buckeyes’ offense this season.
“He's done a really good job. He's a big, tall, fast receiver, can make great plays, and I think you saw a couple today; he had some great plays today,” Sayin said after Saturday’s spring game. “I think he's done a good job of developing in the program, and I think he's got a bright future.”
