Tag: Chris Olave

Chris Olave chosen as top ten returning wide receiver by ESPN

ESPN has identified Ohio State’s Chris Olave as one of the ten best returning receivers in college football for 2020.

By all accounts and measures, Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave has developed well beyond his recruiting accolades when he came out of high school. The coaches believed they got an underrated diamond in the rough at the time when he came out in 2018, and that’s proven to be the case.

Rated barely in the top 400 of recruits in the class as a three-star recruit, Olave splashed on the scene his freshman season against Michigan and never looked back. His sophomore season of 2019 was a breakout year, one in which he led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns as Justin Fields’ big-play threat down the field.

He has smooth running routes, elite speed, and great hands that he uses to separate and make explosive plays.

ESPN agrees. In a piece Anthony Treash published, he identified Olave as one of the ten best returning receivers in the country for 2020. And while he barely made the list at No. 10, it’s still a nod towards the 6-1, 185 pounder from San Marcos, California.

LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase and Alabama’s DeVonta Smith lead the group, with many others you can read about here (subscription required).

But back to Olave. Here’s what ESPN writes on the talented wide-out.

Sophomore receiver Olave had a breakout year in 2019, separating better than anyone with his speed and route running. Over 57% of his targets thrown 10-plus yards beyond the line of scrimmage had two or more steps of separation, which both led the country and was 23 percentage points above the average. He used his strength when going up against single coverage this past season, leading to one of the 10 highest grades on such plays. Moore might be the best wide receiver in the Big Ten, but Olave isn’t too far behind.

There’s a bevy of talented receivers headed to Columbus, and with Olave as option No. 1 on the outside, it should open things up for other talented pass-catchers in 2020.

Ohio State football post-spring 2020 projected depth chart

Spring football in Columbus has ended early thanks to the COVID-19 health crisis, so we look at the projected 2020 Ohio State depth chart.

We’ve already gone through this exercise just after the season ended, and then again right before spring. But we’ll continue to revisit it as we go through the offseason and on towards real, live American football in the fall — hopefully.

We now know the early departures for the NFL, and there’s a couple of dismissals to make note of. In addition, some early enrollees will have a chance to make their mark, and a big-time graduate transfer has arrived to provide immediate depth for the backfield.

And with the COVID-19 crisis shutting spring football and almost all areas of life down (and rightly so), it’s time to project where the depth chart is heading towards the fall. Hopefully, things get a little closer to normal and we have football this season.

Anyway, let’s start things off in the backfield.

Next … the quarterback/running back combination

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Ohio State Football Profile Card: Justin Fields

A profile of Ohio State starting quarterback Justin Fields

Name: Justin Fields

Number: 1

Position: QB

Class: Junior

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 228 lbs

Hometown: Kennesaw, GA

High School: Harrison High School, Kennesaw, GA

WATCH: J.T. Barrett on Ohio State QB Justin Fields' Heisman chances

2019-2020 Stats:

GP COMP/ATT % Pass YDs Pass TD INT EFF Pass YPG Rush YDs Rush ATTs Rush TDs Rush YPA
14 238/354 67.2 3273 41 3 181.42 233.8 484 137 10 3.5

Overview:

Fields received a waiver to play immediately in his first season in Columbus (he transferred from Georgia after losing out on the starting job to Jake Fromm). As the 2019 season showed, that was likely a mistake by Georgia. Fields excelled in Ohio State’s powerful offense, while Fromm and the Bulldogs stagnated throughout the year.

Fields showed no struggled adjusting to Ohio State and had zero problems integrating into the offense. He very quickly found a rapport with the entire Ohio State receiving corps, most notably sophomore Chris Olave. That connection–painful as the one miss at the end of the Fiesta Bowl was–was a major factor in Ohio State’s success all season.

Fields is not particularly known as a dual-threat or running quarterback, but that’s a mistake. He’s very mobile and can just as easily run the read-option as he can a pass-first game. He struggled with a bit of a knee injury towards the end of the season, which limited him as a runner a bit. Still, even while hobbled he was mobile enough to avoid sacks, and his ability to throw on the run makes him just more dangerous.

Fields also did an excellent job avoiding mistakes in 2019, as the 41:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio will show. If Fields just stays at his same level from last season–let alone improves–the Heisman finalist will be a major threat when he next suits up in an Ohio State uniform.

Highlights

Miss any of Fields’ touchdowns during the last season? Don’t worry. This highlight real shows you every single one of them.

Five way too early bold predictions for Ohio State football in 2020

We’re looking way ahead to this fall and throwing out five way too early bold predictions for Ohio State football in 2020.

If you feel like you’re in the college football equivalent of purgatory, you are not alone. It may have only been less than two months since Ohio State lost in shocking and depressing fashion to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, but it feels much longer.

We’ll have spring ball soon enough, but until then, we’re left to question what if, why, and for what reason? But enough about the past, we’re here to look ahead — perhaps way ahead to next season.

We always roll out some bold predictions for the upcoming football season, but this time we’re getting ahead of the game with five way-too-early bold predictions for this fall. By the way, we nailed every single one of our bold predictions before the season last year.

That means we’ll probably be way off this time, but nonetheless, we’ll give it the old college football try.

Next … Prediction No. 1

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Ohio State football pre-spring 2020 projected depth chart

It’s almost time for some spring football in Columbus. We take a look at a projected pre-spring Ohio State two-deep depth chart for 2020.

We’ve already gone through this exercise just after the season ended, but we’ll continue to revisit it as we go through the offseason and on towards real, live American football in the fall.

We now know the early departures for the NFL, there’s a couple of dismissals to make note of, and a slew of early enrollees that will have a chance to make their mark. And with spring football right around the corner, it feels like a good time to do another projection for Ohio State football’s depth chart.

Disclaimer — this is clearly not set in stone and can and will change. But here we go for now with a two-deep.

Quarterback

1. Justin Fields**
2. Gunnar hoak

No change here. Fields is the guy, and based on what we saw last year, look for Gunnar Hoak to get the first crack at the backup job. He’ll be pushed though by incoming freshman C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller.

Running Back

1. Master Teague
2. marcus crowley

Teague still looks like the likely heir apparent to the dynamic Dobbins that’s off to the NFL. Look for Crowley to push for playing time and ultimately grab the backup role. Steele Chambers could also grab the backup spot in and open competition.

Next … the pass catchers

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Chris Olave to change his jersey number for 2020

Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave will be wearing a new number in 2020. Gone is No. 17, but what number will we see him in for 2020?

Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave is expected to do some pretty big things next year. He will apparently be doing it in a different jersey number than what we’ve been accustomed to through his first two seasons in Columbus.

We all recognize the No. 17 making big plays down the field (and so too does Michigan), but according to a tease on Twitter by Olave himself, that is coming to an end. No, not the playmaking or super-wedgies he continues to give Michigan, but the jersey number.

In a series of three Tweets to his Twitter feed, Olave first said goodbye to the number we’ve been seen him wearing.

He then, let the world know what number we’ll see him in next year. It is the same number he wore in high school — No. 2.

Lastly, he had some help from the Buckeye Edits to show what he’ll look like in the new number. See the below retweet from Olave after it was shared.

While the number may be changing for 2020, you can expect the same type of threat, route-running and hands making highlights in a stadium near you in the fall.

ESPN picks Ohio State football’s instant impact freshman for 2020

ESPN has identified Ohio State football’s instant impact freshman for 2020, and it’s someone that many are excited about.

It’s still almost seven excruciating months until Ohio State football is officially back, but we try to give you some content to bridge the gap on an almost daily basis. ESPN continues to project ahead too, and it has published a piece outlining each of its early top 25 programs’ impact freshman for 2020.

In the case of Ohio State — who is ranked No. 2 by ESPN by the way — there are plenty of kids to choose from. The wide-receiver room is going to have a ton of talent with a bunch of four and five-star recruits already practicing at the Woody, offensive lineman Paris Johnson, Jr is a beat and could make an immediate impact, and others could jump up and surprise. The class is loaded and some already making development strides in practice as early enrollees.

So which way did ESPN go? How about picking one of the top recruits in the entire country no matter what recruiting service you look at. Every program wanted Julian Fleming, but he chose Ohio State over Penn State and others. He was the consensus top-rated wide receiver coming out in the 2020 class and there’s good reason why.

At 6-2, 200 lbs., Fleming has the size and physicality to get off the line and make catches in traffic, but he’s got underrated speed too — almost winning the fastest man contest at The Opening.

Here is what Tom VanHaaren says about Fleming:

The Buckeyes are losing receivers K.J. Hill, Binjimen Victor and Austin Mack from the roster and have an opportunity for a receiver such as Fleming to come in and contribute early. There are other receivers on the roster, but as Garrett Wilson showed last season, coach Ryan Day isn’t afraid to let a freshman play often if he’s the best option. Fleming is a bigger-bodied receiver, at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and has a lot of physical tools that should help him assimilate to the college game quickly. Wide receivers JaxonSmith-Njigba and Gee Scott Jr. will also have an opportunity to help the offense, but Fleming seems to be a step ahead.

Can you imagine if Fleming does flash his potential and play a lot in 2020? Combine him with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, and it’ll be hard for opposing defenses to game plan against the weapons quarterback Justin Fields will be able to throw too.

One thing is for sure — it should be a lot of fun again in 2020 around and on the banks of the Olentangy.

Ohio State football 2020 receiving corps will is going to be ridiculously good

The Ohio State Buckeyes will have a reenergized roster this coming season, led by what could easily be the nation’s best receiving corps.

The Ohio State football team will lose critical pieces of their team to the 2020 NFL Draft. Chase Young, J.K. Dobbins and Jeff Okudah will all be leaving after their junior season.

However, Ohio State is losing more than just those three. Seniors like K.J. Hill, the university’s all-time receptions leader, and Binjimen Victor will be leaving, potentially continuing their career in the NFL.

The absence of those two will deplete the team’s receiving corps.

Justin Fields shouldn’t worry though.

He’ll be getting all the help he needs in the form of an upgraded Garrett Wilson, experienced Chris Olave, and extremely talented inbound receiving class.

Wilson was the No. 2 receiver in the Class of 2019. Julian Fleming is the No. 1 receiver in the Class of 2020. Aside from Fleming, Ohio State is bringing in the fifth-best and tenth-best receivers in the class according to 247Sports.

The key to unlocking Wilson, Fleming, Gee Scott Jr., and Jaxon Smith-Njigba is Chris Olave. Olave accounted for 12 touchdowns and 840 yards last season. He’ll get a lot of attention from opposing defenses in 2020.

While he may remember the 2019 season for the heartbreak in the College Football Playoff semifinal Fiesta Bowl, there’s no denying that he’ll be the unanimous leader of the nation’s most talent receiving corp in 2020.

Those five receivers will take this offense to a new level, hopefully, one we’ve yet to see at the collegiate level in a long, long time.

 

Is Ohio State football becoming wide-receiver U?

Ohio State has been known for being a run-heavy team throughout its history, but is it now becoming Wide Receiver U?

It’s been well documented that Ohio State has been laying claim as “DBU” for churning out NFL defensive backs throughout history. The Bucks may start claiming the title of “Wide Receiver U” before too long.

Ohio State was a little late to the passing game as Buckeye Legend Woody Hayes famously said: “There are only three things can happen on a pass, and two of them are bad.” But Ohio State would start to evolve with names like Chris Carter, Terry Glenn, and David Boston in the 80’s and 90’s.

However, you might be surprised to know that since the 2000 NFL draft, Ohio State has had more receivers drafted than any other college program. It’ll no doubt add to that total with guys like KJ Hill and Austin Mack this coming April.

It seems now, Columbus is the place to be for highly-touted receivers to land. The 2020 recruiting class lays claim to the No. 1, No. 5, No. 12, and No. 15 ranked receivers in the nation (Julian Flemming, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott, Jr., and Mookie Cooper). Add this class to what was a strong 2019 receiving class led by the No. 2 nationally-ranked receiver, Garrett Wilson, and there is something special in the making.

Speaking of Garrett Wilson, he and fellow Buckeye Wideout, Chris Olave just made the Pro Football Focus list of top 25 receivers returning to college football in 2020.  Wilson comes in at No. 24 and Olave makes the ranking at No. 10.

Brian Hartline is doing work not only bringing in top-level talent, but developing that talent as well. And we’re excited to see what this explosive group can do going forward.

Ohio State football’s top ten players looking ahead to 2020

The 2019 season is done, but we’re looking way ahead to 2020. Here’s Ohio State football’s top ten players for next season.

Are you over the Fiesta Bowl yet? Don’t worry, all in good time.

The 2019 Ohio State football season may be over now, but we’re always looking ahead. We now know more-or-less who will be available for this team in 2020, so we’re taking a stab at ranking the top ten players for the Buckeyes next year, one that promises to be another one in which OSU has a shot at doing some pretty special things.

There will of course be some guys that develop and jump up out of nowhere, but here’s the guys we know and love that’ll be coming to a television set and streaming device near you before you know it.

Next … No. 10

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