Ohio State football: You want to rethink that claim?
By Del Barris
I saw a headline recently from a Detroit newspaper that really threw me for a loop. It said “Meet Michigan State football’s man behind the best WR corps in the Big Ten.” Wait…what? Brian Hartline is coaching at Michigan State? When did this happen? Why don’t I know about this? What is going on here??!!!!!!
It took a minute or so, but I came to realize the article was about Courtney Hawkins. Again, wait…what? Michigan State has the Big Ten’s best group of wide receivers? The article claims Hawkins, a former All-American for the Spartans who is now coaching their receivers, is the leader of a monster group. That’s certainly news to me because I’ve not heard MSU’s mentioned as being better than the Ohio State football team’s receivers. Not once. By anyone. Until now.
If you’re going to make claims like that, you’d better hope those you’re making the claims about make you look good. The article came out just before the Spartans played Indiana. Just a week later, the Buckeyes were scheduled to play Indiana as well. The perfect situation to see how Sparty’s collection of receivers compare to OSU’s trio of Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Michigan State’s top three WR’s, Jayden Reed, Jalen Nailor, and Tre Mosley, combined for nine catches for 104 yards, and no touchdowns against the Hoosiers. That was on a dry, sun-splashed day at Indiana. Now, let’s see what their Buckeye counterparts did against those same Hoosiers just a week later.
Olave, Wilson, and Smith-Njigba had thirteen catches for 180 yards and a touchdown. Some will say those numbers are not THAT much more impressive than those of the Spartans. Consider this: those OSU numbers were accumulated in less in less than three quarters.
In a driving rain. If you watched both games, you know how easy the Buckeye receivers made it look against the Hoosiers. If you’ve watched all season, you know how laughable the claim made by that headline is. The best receiving corps in the Big Ten and college football plays for the Ohio State football team and is coached by Brian Hartline.
dark. Next. Ohio State is about to show their true ability
Look, I get it. Michigan State fans and media are very excited their team is undefeated. Sometimes excitement like this can lead to things being said that makes you think, “Wait…what?” Emotion all too often gets in the way of reason and critical thinking. That is why one publication may want to rethink that claim.