Ohio State Football: The UNLV game gives a chance for a WR to emerge

An Ohio State WR needs to step up an there is no better time to do that than Saturday afternoon.

UNLV’s visit to Columbus, OH is the end of the Ohio State Buckeyes‘ non-conference slate and the last hurdle to clear before they go after only their second Big Ten title under Urban Meyer. It’s also the last chance for one of the Ohio State wide receivers to emerge as a reliable target before conference play tightens rotations.

Who exactly will seize this opportunity?

Two specific players are trending in the right direction: Paris Campbell and K.J. Hill. Campbell has been the most consistent receiver in terms of box score production. He had six catches against Indiana, three against Oklahoma, and six more against Army.

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Campbell is also the current leading receiver by yardage with 217 yards, which accounts for 27% of the Buckeyes’ total receiving yards.

Hill was a non-factor against Indiana with only two catches for six yards. In the next two games, he had five catches for 44 yards against Oklahoma and eight catches for 74 yards against Army, putting him second on the team in receiving yards at 124 yards.

Combined, Hill and Campbell represent 42% of the team’s receiving yards. That’s with 13 different players recording a catch so far in 2017.

Then there’s Marcus Baugh, who has had a bit of an up and down career at Ohio State. Baugh, however, has looked pretty good and could benefit from the shorter receiver rotations.

With all of the run pass options the Buckeyes ran against Army, there figures to be more of that in the coming weeks. Teams will have to really secure the outside receivers to keep the ball in Barrett’s hands.

That leaves two options for the offense. First, Barrett can run it. But after that, why not keep using Baugh through the middle of the field? There’s a chance for him to see enough snaps to be a factor with Luke Farrell not ready to take over.

The news isn’t great for Binjimen Victor or Johnnie Dixon though. Dixon did not play against Army due to injury. His history doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence that he can stay on the field either.

With that opening, Victor saw Austin Mack see an increase in playing time and grabbed four passes for 44 yards and a score against Army. As a bigger receiver, Mack and Victor should have a role in the Buckeye attack.

Instead, it looks like Mack is leading in this two man race. Neither player looks like they will bump Terry McLaurin from his number three receiver role, for what that’s worth.

Next: Lessons learned from Army

UNLV currently sits inside the top 25 in passing yards allowed in 2017, but that’s mostly due to facing Howard and Idaho in their first two games of the season. In 2016, the Rebels were a mediocre 83rd in the country against the pass. With Ohio State hovering around a 40 point favorite for the game, there should be plenty of chances for the passing game to get moving.

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