Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson headline Buckeyes invited to NFL Combine
COLUMBUS — By the standards set at Ohio State, last season was a down year.
The 11-2, Rose Bowl-winning Buckeyes didn’t win the Big Ten or reach the College Football Playoff, and that, by those lofty expectations, means a season full of unmet goals.
But some of the biggest stars from that team loaded with talent — and that still won 11 games — are still among the most coveted players in the draft cycle this spring after ending their careers with a win.
Seven of them will display their talents at the NFL Combine next month in Indianapolis. That list includes Ohio State defensive end Tyreke Smith, defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, offensive linemen Nicholas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford, tight end Jeremy Ruckert and wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
The headliners, and two projected first-round picks are Olave and Wilson, who have a chance to be the top two receivers taken in the draft.
Both sat out of the Rose Bowl to begin preparing for the draft process.
“I told Garrett, I was kind of messing with him, but told him: I don’t want to play with anybody but you,” Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said before the Rose Bowl. “But I tell him do what’s best for him. I really don’t have the say-so in that. That’s up to him and his family and what he wants to do.
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“If [Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave] don’t play, then it’s probably a benefit to them — and I fully respect it. Then it’s just time for guys to step up for next year. … I feel like whoever has to step up will if that if that needs to be the case. But of course I want to play with my brothers again and end it the right way.”
Both receivers chose not to play, however. As did Haskell Garrett and Petit-Frere.
Since that win in January and ending the Ohio State season on the right note, all seven have been preparing for the next step. And they’re now all heading to a huge part of that.
They’ll be at the NFL Combine. And the next roster will hope to get the Buckeyes back to where they want to be before doing the same.
The NFL Combine is in early March. Stick with Lettermen Row for coverage of the former Buckeyes players at the combine in Indianapolis.
