Spring Recap: Buckeyes As Deep As Ever At Receiver?

With spring football now in the rearview mirror for Ohio State, it’s time to look back at what happened with each position group and where things currently stand for the Buckeyes. We continue our series with the wide receivers.

Quick Position Overview

Starters Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate return. Third-year sophomores Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rodgers have played mostly in the slot. Redshirt freshman Mylan Graham is a former five-star prospect. Classmate Damarion Witten redshirted last year as well. The Buckeyes signed four receivers in the 2025 recruiting class.

Expectations Going In

The expectations going in were that this spring was going to be spent on getting the younger players up to speed. Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate didn’t need as much work as everyone else, especially with four true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen on the roster. Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rodgers were also expected to continue developing as leaders and potential starters.

Reality Coming Out

As generally happens with receivers coach Brian Hartline at the helm, things went basically as planned for the Buckeye receivers. Both Bryson Rodgers and Brandon Inniss were able to get more work on the outside, which will help will substitution patterns this season. Damarion Witten was held out for portions of the action with an undisclosed injury. Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter both stood out, which was a positive development considering it was the first spring for each player.

Any Surprises?

One year after making outrageous play after outrageous play in spring ball, Jeremiah Smith didn’t really make any ridiculous plays when the media was in attendance this year. He wasn’t always participating, but it was still a surprise considering what everyone had been accustomed to seeing. The lack of highlights is not a concern. There are no worries about a sophomore slump — at least not of Smith’s doing.

Unanswered Question

Can the Buckeyes get any reps out of the freshmen aside from Quincy Porter? Bodpegn Miller is still transitioning from high school quarterback to college receiver, so he will likely take more time to earn snaps. Phillip Bell and De’zie Jones both play the slot, which is not a position of need this season — especially when the Buckeyes will also likely end up playing a lot of 12 personnel (two tight ends, one running back, two receivers). Ohio State doesn’t necessarily need multiple freshmen to step up, but the Buckeyes are planning for a long season, so they won’t be turning down any possible help.

So Now What?

So now the receivers will all continue working with the Buckeye quarterbacks so that they can build a cohesive rapport that will be seen by everyone once the games finally kick off this season. Those same receivers will also spend countless hours on the Monarc Machine programming automated passes and working on their craft. Every receiver on this roster has seen how past players have operated. The veterans now will continue passing on their knowledge of what it takes to be Ohio State wide receivers.

One Concern

How deep will the receiver rotation go? Aside from Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss played the most snaps last year of this year’s returning receivers. Bryson Rodgers was not far behind him. Both players are expected to be in the rotation this season. Both repped with the ones at times throughout spring. Mylan Graham showed in the spring game what he had been showing all spring long. It’s difficult to imagine him not seeing snaps on offense every week. Quincy Porter was the only freshman to lose his black stripe in the spring, which bodes well for at least some playing time this year.

Are We Sure?

Are we sure we’re giving Carnell Tate enough attention? This should be a 1,000-yard season for Tate, which is something that has only happened 12 times in program history. Tate caught 52 passes last year as the Buckeyes’ third target. He has moved up in the pecking order following the graduation of Emeka Egbuka. This should be a big year for Tate, but he’s been overshadowed by teammates his first two years — not unlike what Egbuka went through his entire OSU career.

Quotable

“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.” — Brian Hartline on why Quincy Porter was the first freshman to lose his black stripe this year.