Ranking Ohio State's Wide Receivers in the 21st Century

This may be the most challenging position to rank over the past 25 years. The most significant criterion isn’t individual stats or talent. It is team accomplishments, big game performances, the impact on the program and position after them, along with stats and talent. Still, there is so much that I almost want to do a top 25, rather than a top 10. This ridiculous success of Buckeye receivers is why Ohio State has the strongest case for being Wide Receiver U.

1. Devin Smith

Smith had 121 catches in his Ohio State career for 2,503 yards (fifth all-time in Buckeye history) and 30 touchdowns (fourth all-time). His 33 catches for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior season set a record for the highest average yards per catch in a single season for a Buckeye receiver, at 28.2, which still stands today.

Smith’s 30 touchdown receptions in his Ohio State career are coupled with an all-time great fact. The Buckeyes were 22-0 when he scored a touchdown. The Buckeyes were 44-10 in his four years, and seven of those losses came in his freshman season.

He was a critical part of the 2014 National and Big Ten Champion Buckeyes. The Bucks don’t beat Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon without him. He was also a part of the undefeated 2012 Buckeyes (who I consider also to have a share of the National and Big Ten Championships that year). His accomplishments throughout his career, his big-game performances, and team success are why he is the best Buckeye wide receiver of this century.

2. Michael Jenkins

He is STILL Ohio State’s leader in career receiving yards with 2,898 yards (although I’ve seen one source claim him as the leader and another Emeka Egbuka). He had 165 catches and 16 touchdowns to go with those yards. His 1,076 yards in 2002 are good enough for ninth all-time. He was the fourth Buckeye to reach over 1,000 yards in a season and was the only one to do so this century until Parris Campbell in 2018. Jenkins's most significant reason for being this high on this list is, like Smith, it’s about what he helped win.

Jenkins was never better than he was in the biggest moments of the biggest games. His catch against Purdue is one of the biggest Ohio State plays of all time. Every Buckeye fan knows Holy Buckeye.

Jenkins was again clutch in Ohio State’s upset of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, converting on 4th and 14 in overtime to keep Ohio State alive. Michael Jenkins is the reinforced concrete foundation that every Ohio State receiver has built off of in the last 25 years.

3. Jeremiah Smith

#4 is on this list after only a single season because he was just as instrumental in Ohio State capturing a national championship as Devin Smith was in 2014 and Michael Jenkins was in 2002. D. Smith was known for opening up the offense, taking the top off the defense, and putting the defense on their heels.

Jenkins was known for making the biggest catches in the biggest moments under the most pressure. They are known for those things over their entire careers. Jeremiah Smith did both of those things as a true freshman.

He was great in the regular season, but like the 2024 National Champions, he saved his best for the College Football Playoff. He had 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 16 total touchdowns last year. 19 of those catches, 381 of those yards, and five of those touchdowns came during the CFP for Smith and the Buckeyes.

They don’t win any of those four games without him. Even in the Texas game, where he was triple-teamed and quiet, the extra defenders on him opened up plays like Henderson’s 75-yard screen catch for a touchdown. It is likely Smith will be not only at the top of this list, the Ohio State all-time list, but the entire list of the best wide receivers in college football history when his time at Ohio State is done.

4. Santonio Holmes

Holmes racked up 140 catches for 2,295 yards and 26 total touchdowns for Ohio State. Santonio Holmes is tenth all-time in receiving yards at Ohio State. He is a national champion (2002), a two-time Big Ten Champion (2002, 2005), and a three-time Fiesta Bowl Champion (2003, 2004, and 2006). Holmes was consistent no matter who was slinging him the rock.

Whether it was Craig Krenzel, Scott McMullen, Justin Zwick, or Troy Smith, Santonio Holmes was elite. Holmes could have gone pro after his 8-4 redshirt sophomore season, but returned to have Ohio State be a top-four team. The Bucks were 43-8 with Holmes at Ohio State.

5. Ted Ginn Jr.

Ted Ginn did everything. He had 135 catches for 1,943 yards and 15 touchdowns receiving. Ginn rushed the football 28 times for 213 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a 38-yard touchdown pass. #7 had 38 kick returns for 1,012 yards and two touchdowns.

He returned 64 punts for 900 yards and six touchdowns. Ginn Jr. touched the football 266 times, was responsible for 4,106 yards, and 27 touchdowns. He is one of only 10 Buckeyes to total more than 4,000 yards in their careers. Ginn is as much of a Wolverine slayer as his high school teammate and friend, Troy Smith. Troy Smith doesn’t hoist the Heisman Trophy without #7.

6. Chris Olave

Olave had 176 catches for 2,711 yards and 35 touchdowns. Those 35 touchdowns are a Buckeye record. Having the most touchdown catches at Ohio State is a record that can’t be ignored. Olave was a winner too and helped three different Buckeye quarterbacks become legends (Haskins, Fields, and Stroud). Ohio State was 44-5, three-time Big Ten Champions, made the playoff twice, struck fear into the hearts of wolverines, and broke the Clemson curse.

7. Emeka Egbuka

EE is the Buckeye leader in career receptions with 205 and has 2,868 yards and 26 total touchdowns in his time in the Scarlet and Gray. He was a massive part of the Buckeyes' 2024 National Championship team. Jeremiah Smith gets covered a lot more without a guy like Emeka Egbuka making catches and keeping defenses honest. Ohio State was 47-8 during his time in Columbus, and his leadership was just as important as his elite play on the field.

8. Garrett Wilson

Wilson totaled 143 catches for 2,213 yards and 24 total touchdowns in his career at Ohio State. He was one of Justin Fields' favorite targets (and is again) and helped CJ Stroud break out into stardom. Wilson never stopped making big plays and catches. Ohio State was 31-4 in his three seasons with the Buckeyes and helped Ohio State reach the national championship game in 2020.

9. Curtis Samuel

Curtis Samuel was cut from the same cloth as Ted Ginn Jr. He is the only Buckeye to ever have over 700 yards rushing and 700 yards receiving in the same season. Samuel rushed the ball 172 times for 1,286 yards with 15 touchdowns and caught 107 passes for 1,249 yards with nine touchdown catches.

He had 306 touches in his career for 2,997 yards and 24 touchdowns. Samuel would have had even more if not for sharing the backfield with Ezekiel Elliott for two years. Still, he was a remarkable all-around talent who was part of a national championship, two playoff berths. He was 3-0 against that team up north, with one of the most iconic plays in the history of The Game.

10. Parris Campbell

Campbell totaled 196 touches for 2,891 yards and 17 touchdowns as an Ohio State Buckeye. Parris Campbell is a 2014 National Champion, a three-time Big Ten Champion, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Cotton Bowl Champion. Ohio State was 5-0 against that team up north, and 52-7 in his five years in his native Ohio.

Ohio State has an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver in the last 25 years. Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Anthony Gonzalez, Terry McLaurin, Michael Thomas, Brian Robiskie, Dane Sanzenbacher, Evan Spencer, Jalin Marshall, KJ Hill, Johnnie Dixon, and so many more are proof of that.

The argument can be made for all of these guys to be on this list in a ton of different orders. There are seven national champions and six first-round draft picks in the top ten, and three first-round picks in the rest. That’s why, in a Buckeye shell, Ohio State is Wide Receiver U.