Will Howard doesn't expect Ohio State to lose a step at receiver in 2024 despite Marvin Harrison Jr. departure

Ohio State has been nothing short of a factory at wide receiver, where in the last few years no program has recruited, developed, and sent players at the position to the NFL more than the Buckeyes. With 11 Ohio State wideouts currently in the NFL after Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the most recent NFL Draft.

Harrison’s departure to the NFL along with several other players in the last three seasons leaves the Buckeyes’ wide receiver room a little bit more unknown than usual. Which is something that new Ohio State quarterback Will Howard revealed he’s not worried about recently at the Manning Passing Academy.

“Obviously Marv is a big loss, but I don’t really think we’re going to lose a step there, and it has nothing to do with how good Marvin is,” Howard said. “I think Jeremiah Smith is the real deal, man that kid is special. And Emeka [Egbuka], he’s the leader of that room, he’s the alpha and he’s a special leader. He knows how to get those guys going, he knows how to get to them. Carnell Tate is special.”

Egbuka returns as the veteran of Zone 6, catching 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 scores in 2022 before injuries limited him to just 41 receptions, 515 yards, and four touchdowns last season. But outside of him, freshmen and sophomores will now be expected to carry the torch as the next Ohio State contributors and greats at the position. Many of whom were highly-touted high school prospects who will look to prove they can live up to they hype.

“And the other thing is that we’re so deep at those positions, I mean Zone 6 this year two, three deep could probably start at most places this year around the country,” Howard added.

“It’s cool because those guys want to come to Ohio State and they want to compete, and they’d rather sit behind Carnell or sit behind Emeka and wait and be ready. A guy like Brandon Inniss who could’ve gone anywhere in the country, could probably start anywhere in the country, is gonna be our two. He’s a five-star recruit.”

Reports from Howard and the offseason at large out of Columbus suggest that there will be no fall off at the wide receiver position this year. With several players having the opportunity to make themselves household names and make Howard’s job a whole lot easier this upcoming season.

“The wealth of riches that we have is pretty crazy and for me it makes my job easy,” Howard concluded.