Buckeyes showing confidence in deep, talented wide receiver room

COLUMBUS — Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline isn’t ready to dish out any names yet.

Of course, the top of the Buckeyes depth chart at wide receiver is obvious. Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming are unquestionable the main three in their rotation.

But it’s clear that Hartline believes the Buckeyes have a chance to showcase a deep group of wide receivers come fall.

“I would say that we are a good six or seven deep right now,” Hartline said following the Buckeyes sixth spring practice inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday afternoon. “And that’s really good.

“… They’re showing trajectory. The four or five or six is much better than it was this time last year. So everyone’s being pushed, everyone’s growing. And having these extra reps, with a couple guys out, have been awesome. And they know that those eventually are going to go away. So as long as we’re maximizing those, we’ll be in a much better position come fall camp.”

Hartline has a loaded room full of former blue-chip talents. Jayden Ballard enters Year Three as a potential difference-maker who needs to continue to flash consistency this spring. That’s where he has struggled in his first two seasons.

“He’s running faster, more consistently,” Hartline praised Ballard for. He always caught the ball great. No mental mistakes on offense, blocking the right guys, lining up on the right alignments, pick the details of football. He’s doing them more consistently.”

Second-year receiver Kaleb Brown is showing signs of progress every day, as are the three freshman pass-catchers.

Freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate even shed his black stripe last weekend, becoming the first member of the 2023 recruiting class to do so after he opened spring camp with a quite impressive first two weeks of practice.

So yes, the wide receiver room could be as deep as its been in years for Ohio State. But the remainder of spring practice will go a long way in proving whether that actually happens or not.

Spencer Holbrook, Tim May and Andy Backstrom were back with full coverage of the sixth practice of Ohio State spring football. The crew dishes their takes after hearing from Hartline and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. As spring ball is in full swing for the Buckeyes, there’s plenty to talk about. The offseason is behind us as spring football heats up more and more with each passing practice.

It’s all included in the latest Practice Report presented by Byers Auto. Find that here.