Make the Case: Ohio State’s wide receiver room will be even better in 2026 than in 2025

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The task of replacing Carnell Tate is no easy one. The elite wide receiver was selected as the No. 4 pick overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, leaving a gaping hole in the Buckeyes’ wide receiver room. 

That Tate was WR2 behind Jeremiah Smith was no indication of his talent or importance to the Buckeyes’ game plan. In any other duo, Tate would have been the better half, and arguably at any other school in the country, he would have been WR1. 

Instead, Tate and Smith comprised one of the most menacing pairs in college football last season, leaving opponents with a “Sophie’s Choice” type of dilemma: Guard Smith well enough to shut him down and leave Tate open, or take the risk that Smith will run all over them. Throughout last season, we watched teams struggle with how to defend against these two. 

Against Minnesota, for example, Tate logged a season-high 183 yards compared to Smith’s 67. The Golden Gophers managed to limit Smith’s yardage (if not his damage—he was still good for two touchdowns), but Tate, who had more than 100 receiving yards in four games last season, exploded as punishment.

Similarly, contain Tate, and off went JJ. It was ultimately a challenge of choosing your own demise, and that combined dynamic, perhaps even more than their individual talents, made Ohio State’s wide receiver room in 2025 a tremendous threat. 

In spite of those enormous shoes to fill, however, the 2026 wide receiver room is perhaps even more loaded than the 2025 room. Though it’s a bit of an apples and oranges comparison (2026 brings more depth, while 2025’s most likely offered more elite talent), this year’s room has a little bit of everything — the top wide receiver in the country, a player ready for his moment in the spotlight, plus top-tier recruits and some solid transfers. But that’s not all—behind this group is plenty of young talent that leaves the room crowded (dare I say overflowing) with potential. 

With offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline leaving the program to become the head coach at South Florida, it remains to be seen whether Ohio State can hold onto its Wide Receiver U title for the long haul. At least for this season, though, they seem well-equipped to hang onto their crown. 

There is, of course, Smith, commonly called the “best player in college football.” He is a generational talent in the least hyperbolic sense of the word, and while it is widely assumed he will head to the NFL at the end of the 2026 season when he is eligible to do so, for at least one more year, he’s donning a Buckeyes jersey. 

With Smith on the field, it opens things up. Rather than necessitating another dominant player as they had in Tate, they can rely on a steady lineup of polished veterans and breakout stars, and the Buckeyes have some of both ready to complement Smith this season. 

Junior veteran Brandon Inniss, for example, played a supporting role good for 271 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 (though the captain was sometimes on the receiving end of criticism due to some memorable blunders), but he is expected to play a large leadership role this year. 

True freshman Chris Henry Jr. arrived in Columbus rated the No. 1 receiver in his recruiting class after averaging 25 yards a catch in his final high school season. Despite his inexperience, he had an impressive spring and looked ready to take on more than just a developmental role. 

UTSA transfer Devin McCuin marks a tremendous value-add for the Buckeyes, with proven production that the team can rely on. In 2025, in spite of injuries, he logged 726 yards and eight touchdowns on 65 receptions, earning himself all-conference honors. Many projections have him starting outside for the Buckeyes, as he’s proven he can take on the workload. 

Kyle Parker, also a transfer, comes to OSU from LSU, having logged 330 yards and four touchdowns on 31 receptions in the SEC last season. His ability to remain consistent — consistently — means Parker can become one of the guys who steps in with experience when it counts, opening up options for the Buckeyes. 

Collectively, McCuin and Parker bring added maturity and experience to the roster, while Inniss brings the leadership skills, and Henry brings the explosion. 

Behind these core options, there is a steady stream of young guys, including Jerquaden Guilford (the state of Indiana’s top-ranked recruit in his class), Brock Boyd (who holds the all-time receiving yards record at Southlake Carroll, one of Texas’ perennial power programs), and De’Zie Jones (a four-star prospect who tallied 3,000 career receiving yards in high school). The young talent on this team ensures the pipeline can continue to stay strong for years to come. 

While Tate is nearly impossible to replace in a 1:1 way, having so many steady choices whose skill sets complement each other means new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has options for his offensive schema, something that allows the Buckeyes to do things differently than they’ve done in the past while delivering the same results. It’s likely the Buckeyes will utilize more of a five-man rotation this year, versus the trio of Smith, Tate and Inniss we saw last season.

Only time will tell how this class stacks up to the dynamism of last year’s receiving room, but with so many players who already looked game-ready after this spring, there’s a lot of promise for the season to come. 

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