Ohio State Football: Could another receiver earn playing time?

The Ohio State football team will have the best receiving corp in the country next season. They had the best corp last year and they get all of their main guys back. All of their top four targets return from last season. Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming, and Xavier Johnson are all back.

All four guys are looking to have another good season in 2023. Even with a new quarterback, these guys will still put up some big numbers. With all four of these guys returning, and Cade Stover returning at running back, is there room for another receiver to earn playing time?

Looking at the depth chart, it would probably be smart if the Buckeyes could get someone else some important snaps. All of these players are likely to leave after this season. That would leave the receiver room pretty bare in terms of experience heading into 2024.

The player who is most likely to get some time is Jayden Ballard. Ballard has been fighting hard to earn some time but hasn’t been able to get out on the field consistently. He only had 8 catches last season. But with Fleming injury-prone, Ballard would likely be next in line to get snaps.

That is if he can hold off Carnell Tate. Tate, a true freshman, has already had his black stripe removed. He’s been impressing the coaches with his hard work this Spring. He was a borderline five-star prospect coming out of high school. Tate definitely has some talent.

I still doubt that any receiver that isn’t one of the big four will get significant snaps. Those four guys are too good and have proven their skills over the last couple of seasons. Maybe some new guys can get some snaps early in the season against some of the worse non-conference teams that the Ohio State football team face, not named Notre Dame.