Quincy Porter In Position For 'A Lot' Of Football This Year

Quincy Porter kept the streak alive.

Following Saturday’s practice, Porter lost his black stripe, and for the third year in a row, a wide receiver is the first Buckeye freshman to accomplish the feat.

Every new Ohio State football player has a black stripe placed down the middle of their helmet. When they’ve done enough to prove themselves to teammates and coaches on the field and off, the stripe can be removed. It’s a tradition that began when Urban Meyer took over in 2012 and has continued with head coach Ryan Day.

What did Porter do to earn the removal of his black stripe?

Well, he earned the respect of his teammates.

“We were kind of just going about practice — and that’s our expectation to make plays, not make mistakes — and he was starting to make a lot of plays consistently,” explained receivers coach and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. “I think the consistent level that he’s been as a person — being on time and doing his job description on each play — and the ball’s coming your way, and making some big plays, and it starts being seen by your peers. Your peers start asking for it, they start barking, ‘Get his stripe off.’ That’s the ultimate sign of respect. So something like that happened, and it was well-deserved based on his peers and the other coaches.”

Saturday’s practice was open to the media and students, and everybody in attendance saw Porter making contested catches and picking up first downs. Checking in at 6-foot-4 and around 200 pounds, he’s hard to miss.

How did losing his black stripe feel for the former five-star recruit from Bergen Catholic in Oradell, New Jersey.

“Good, good,” Porter said. “It’s definitely a great accomplishment, but now I’m more focused on next up and still preparing and attacking every day the same.”

Two years ago, Carnell Tate was the first true freshman to lose his black stripe. He lost it earlier than any Buckeye freshman since the tradition began. It took Tate just five practices to be deemed worthy of being a Buckeye. Last year, Jeremiah Smith did him one better, losing his black stripe after just four practices. Porter took 11 practices, which may sound like a lot compared to Smith and Tate, but it definitely is not.

If you’d like to keep score at home, Marvin Harrison, Jr. lost his black stripe after 9 practices in 2021. Harrison and Jack Sawyer were the first two freshmen to lose their black stripes that year, both losing them on the same day. In 2020, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the first freshman to lose his black stripe, but the number of practices is in question because of COVID affecting both the spring and fall camp “walk through” practices prior to the season actually being given the go-ahead in the fall.

Garrett Wilson was the first member of the 2019 class to lose his black stripe, which happened six years ago today. It took him 12 practices to shed his black stripe.

But back to Quincy Porter.

Head coach Ryan Day was asked on Monday what made Porter the first freshman to earn the honor.

“He was productive,” Day said. “He made a lot of contested catches. You guys were able to see that. We’ve seen a lot of that leading up to this point. And we don’t like to get those black stripes off too early for the freshman, but he earned it, especially in a competitive live day like that, to make some of those catches. And he had a couple of catches before you guys even got in there that day that kind of lit up the group.”

Hartline and Day will both repeat that every player has his own path and is on his own time table. Losing a black stripe early is not always the best indicator of immediate success, but the names above might care to object.

It already seems clear that Porter is going to have some moments this season, but after seeing what Jeremiah Smith did last year as a true freshman — posting over 1,300 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns — the imagination can go a little bit wild.

But so can the possibilities.

“All I know is that I can do it and anybody can do it,” Porter said of having an impact like Smith did last year. “It’s just putting the work in and knowing that it’s possible.”

All players have goals, and there’s nothing wrong with working towards catching 70 passes as a true freshman. Only one Buckeye has ever done that, so expectations from the outside for Porter to do something similar aren’t exactly fair.

He’s not worried about outside expectations, though.

“Well, I don’t really take anything personal,” he said. “I mean, expectations, I’m just going to try to exceed all expectations, still play hard, and still work hard. Nothing changes with that.”

Yes, everybody has their own path. That is an absolute truth. But the common denominator with all of the names above is an advanced level of maturity. They arrived like professionals and punched the clock every day.

And everybody has taken notice.

“I like just how gritty he was, how competitive he was,” Day said of last Saturday’s practice. “He’s showing toughness, again, making those contested physical catches. If he can keep playing like that, he’s gonna find himself playing a lot of football this year.”