COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three mid-season observations on Ohio State football’s freshman wide receivers. 1. To those who expected the Buckeyes’ highly ranked newcomers to already be tearing up opposing secondaries, receivers coach Brian Hartline asks for your patience. The former Buckeyes star receiver uses the present tense to describe that four-man group’s talent. (“They’re all studs, man,” Hartline said Wednesday.) With Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson dominating snaps and targets, however, the on-field impact — at least within the offense — remains on the horizon. Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s toe-tap in the back of the end zone in the season opener against Nebraska remains the group’s singular highlight. His other four catches have netted 5 yards, and Julian Fleming has one reception and one notable drop. Smith-Njigba, with 67 snaps, has played more than Fleming (32) and Gee Scott (12) combined, per the Eleven Warriors snap tracker. Mookie Cooper has yet to…
Continue Reading: From special teams grunt work to big drops, Ohio State football’s freshman receivers are still growing
