The Ohio State football program produces great receivers every year. More than any other program, the Buckeyes produce stars year after year at that position. In fact, they have now produced a first-round receiver in each of the last five seasons after Carnell Tate was taken fourth overall in April.
That will increase to six years next season once Jeremiah Smith is drafted. They have become the standard program against which all others are judged. Now, even current players at other programs are looking to emulate former Ohio State receivers because of how good they were.
Malachi Toney and the Hurricanes beat the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl last season. Toney enters the season as one of the most exciting players in the country. He actually tries to get a lot of his game from a former Buckeye great at the receiver position.
Malachi Toney tries to emulate his game after former Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba
While speaking on The Journey, Toney revealed that he is trying to model his game after Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Njigba was one of the best players for the Buckeyes before he went to the NFL. Toney believes that he has a lot of similarities to what JSN has to offer.
"I feel like we got a lot of similarities in our game...he's just a dawg."
Comparing yourself to the best wide receiver in the NFL is certainly a choice. JSN helped the Seahawks win a Super Bowl last season and then got rewarded with a massive contract extension. Toney has not won a title yet, although he did admittedly get close last season.
It is cool to see really good players from other programs trying to copy Ohio State Buckeyes. It's what everyone should do. It's clear that the Buckeyes know how to recruit and develop receivers, and future receivers should want to go to Columbus to play their college football.
Ohio State is looking for revenge against Miami and Malachi Toney
Toney helped end Ohio State's season a year ago, as Miami beat the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl. That ended their bid to repeat as national champions. The Buckeyes will be looking for revenge against the Hurricanes if both teams manage to make the College Football Playoff again.
Miami has a much easier path to the CFP than Ohio State does. Ohio State has one of the toughest schedules in the country. However, they believe that their own receivers will be able to step up and help them lead the team to a bunch of wins again this year.
Toney will be battling Jeremiah Smith for the top awards for receivers. Smith is the prohibitive favorite to win the Biletnikoff, and he's one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. It will be hard for Toney to catch up to Smith, even if he models his game after JSN.
If Ohio State does match up against the Hurricanes in the CFP, you can bet they will have a lot of motivation to undo what happened last season. They want revenge in the worst way possible.
Add us as a preferred source on Google