Ohio State first-year wide receiver Mylan Graham loses black stripe
Ohio State had only two wide receiver signees in its 2024 class. Both are former top-10 overall prospects: Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham. Smith, the top recruit in his cycle, is already a household name, but Buckeyes fans better get to know Graham, too — especially now that the New Haven, Indiana, native has shed his black stripe.
Graham was one of two Buckeyes players to earn the post-practice honor Wednesday, along with true freshman safety Leroy Roker. Like Roker, Graham is also a summer arrival, and he really flipped a switch down the stretch of training camp, according to head coach Ryan Day.
“He kind of got to the point where he had that, we call it the kind of the doldrums of camp — where he can’t really get any momentum — and then the last five days, he’s built his own momentum, made plays,” Day said last Thursday of the shifty Graham.
Day even pointed how the 6-foot-1, 185-pound wideout graded out as a “champion” in the first scrimmage of training camp.
Graham clocked out as the No. 39 overall prospect, and the No. 9 receiver, in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The former four-star prospect made quite the impression as a junior at New Haven High School, where he became the top Indiana recruit in his cycle. That year, he hauled in 48 passes for 1,149 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. In the process, he averaged 23.9 yards per catch.
Graham is twitchy off the line and quick out of his breaks. He’s hard to track down in the open field, too.
“Mylan’s gonna be good,” said Carnell Tate, another Ohio State sophomore wideout. “He got the wiggle. He can do it all. He just got here. So it just a lot being thrown at him and stuff like that.
“When he relaxed, get the ropes up, he’s gonna be really good.”
Smith might be the exception to the rule, but, for the most part, the transition from high school stardom to Ohio State stardom takes time for Buckeyes wideouts, in large part because of how talent-laden the receiver room is in Columbus.
Graham has started that long process, however, and he’s off to a good start due to his work ethic.
“He’s really done a good job of learning the offense, learning what we want,” Buckeyes co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline said earlier this summer. “I would say that he takes a lot of pride in his work. He does not like having MAs (missed assignments), almost to the point where he tries to justify himself on why he did things.
“I’m like, ‘Mylan, calm [down], take a deep breath.’ But I appreciate that edge. I really do. He’s jumping in and trying to take reps. He’s really doing a good job. And I think right now he’s just chasing building a body of work to justify where he’s at, right? That’s the hardest part about coming in June. I mean, what body of work have you really developed or proven to your peers or your coaches to really justify what you want to accomplish? So that’s what he’s chasing right now.”
Graham is making up any potential lost ground quickly. That’s evident by him losing his black stripe Wednesday.
