You’re Nuts: Which non-starter do you most want to see play against Texas?

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Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.

In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides on one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.

Today’s Question: Which non-starter do you most want to see play against Texas?

Jami’s Take: Chris Henry Jr.

Expectations have been high for true freshman wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., a five-star recruit who made his collegiate debut against Ball State in the Buckeyes’ 56-3 victory last Saturday.

He entered Saturday’s game on the heels of a standout preseason, with some folks predicting he could earn the WR2 spot behind Jeremiah Smith. 

Henry didn’t quite make the case for that on Saturday, finishing seventh in receiving yards with just one reception—a 15-yard touchdown catch from Tavien St. Clair—but he still showed glimpses of why he’s so highly touted, particularly on his touchdown catch, and his unflappability was on full display in a very impressive way. 

Though Henry got off to a slow start, dropping a few passes in coverage that a more experienced receiver like Smith would have caught, he never looked discouraged by the jitters, seemingly treating each play as a new opportunity and managing to get open throughout the game. His physicality was on display, and his resilience even when catches didn’t go the way he wanted them to bodes well for his maturity on the field. 

In the end, the touchdown was a big exclamation point that largely made up for those early mistakes, generating momentum he can hopefully ride all the way into Texas. 

The receiving rotation at Ohio State is deep: in addition to Smith, Inniss and Henry, the Buckeyes also have transfer Devin McCuin, who impressed in his first game as a Buckeye, and freshman Brock Boyd. 

Still, Henry will almost certainly take rotational snaps at wide receiver when the Buckeyes head to Austin next weekend for a top-five showdown. 

At 6-foot-5, 205-pounds, Henry is formidable, and his size gives him an advantage on the field. Against Texas, he’ll be facing off with a secondary that had some struggles of their own last weekend in the Longhorns’ season opener against Texas State, allowing several busts in coverage. 

Though Texas won the game easily, 59-7, in what was essentially a warm-up week for both the Longhorns and the Buckeyes, Texas did ultimately give up 349 total offensive yards, while the Buckeyes allowed just 165 against Ball State. 

If the Longhorns can’t clean up their coverage, the door could be cracked for Ohio State’s wide receivers to have a big day. 

Because of this, I’m excited to see Henry get another shot after last week. With his first game behind him and that first touchdown in the bag, I’m hopeful we’ll see the version of Henry we saw all of camp—and the same one who found ways to get open consistently against Ball State, even when he wasn’t the eventual target. 

Add to this the Jeremiah Smith of it all, and Henry could have a chance to make the most of even limited snaps. That is, if the Longhorns decide to double up on Smith or overcompensate in any way to slow him down, the rest of the receiving corps could be able to capitalize. With Henry’s ability to win in single-coverage scenarios, we could see solid receiving numbers from him against Texas.

What’s even more compelling to me is that Henry is not a new face for Texas, who heavily recruited Henry and made him a hefty NIL offer. This element could add a little chip on the shoulder for both teams, but especially Henry, who now has to prove he made the right choice. It’s unlikely Texas will ignore him completely, given that they believed so heavily in his potential, but there’s something really delicious about the fact that Henry’s lackluster numbers on Saturday could lead Texas to look past him a bit, ultimately cracking the door for a strong game. 

I’ll also caveat all of this with the fact that Texas’ defense is much stronger than Ball State’s, so Henry’s performance will likely have some variance between the two games—but it’s also why we play those early games. The Buckeyes had a chance to work out some kinks against the Cardinals, as did the Longhorns against Texas State, and now we’ll get to see how that shakes out. 

Both Henry and the Texas secondary had some wrinkles that needed ironing, which makes this upcoming matchup all the more compelling—it gives us the chance to see who cleaned things up between Weeks 1 and 2 and who might need another tumble in the dryer. 

Matt’s Take: Khary Wilder

When Jami and I were initially discussing this prompt, my gut immediately led me to Legend Bey. I am already on record predicting that he will be RB1 by the time Ohio State heads to Bloomington to take on the defending national champion Hoosiers, but as I thought about it more, I realized that it was a pretty big ask to throw Bey into the fire too much in Austin, especially considering that his decision-making on kick returners still clearly leaves something to be desired.

So, I decided to go to the other side of the ball and pick a guy who jumped off the screen for me in admittedly limited playing time, against Ball State: true freshman defensive end Khary Wilder.

Wilder was one of the more interesting developments to come out of Ohio State’s 56-3 season-opening butt-kicking of the Fighting David Lettermans. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound freshman didn’t just get some late-game mop-up snaps once the outcome had been decided; Larry Johnson and Matt Patricia clearly had a specific third-down package designed to get him on the field as an interior pass rusher; and the top-100 recruit made the most of those opportunities.

Wilder generated pressure, helped create the chaos that resulted in a T.J. Alford interception, and on one particularly impressive rep basically tossed an offensive lineman aside while collapsing the pocket. That is not generally the type of thing you expect from a true freshman playing his first collegiate game, even if the opponent was Ball State.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wilder got 17 snaps and picked up two hurries, although that seems light to me. They gave him a 71.9 grade for his first collegiate game, good for sixth amongst OSU defensive linemen in the game.

But this isn’t just me getting excited about the shiny new toy on Ohio State’s roster — as I am wont to do — at Tuesday’s press conference, Kenyatta Jackson has been similarly effusive, saying Wilder’s energy stood out from the beginning of camp and that the freshman is “in his own category.”

Now, I am not suggesting that Wilder should suddenly steal 50 snaps from Jackson, Zion Grady, Beau Atkinson, or anybody else in Austin. Texas is a substantially different animal than Ball State, and throwing a freshman defensive lineman into the deep end for an entire game seems unnecessarily ambitious.

But five, 10, maybe even 15 additional snaps if all goes well? Especially in obvious passing situations? I could get on board with that, especially as Qua Russaw, who I predicted would lead the team in sacks, is questionable for the game at best, after missing the season opener.

Ohio State recruited Wilder because of his explosiveness and power, and the Buckeyes have already shown that they have a package designed specifically to take advantage of it. If that package can create even one hurried throw, one holding penalty, or one drive-killing sack against Texas, then I want to see just how far the freshman’s early momentum can carry him.

Despite Jackson and company getting 17 hurries against Ball State, they could only muster two sacks, and far too many missed tackles than what should ever be acceptable for Ohio State, especially against a MAC team. So if you can throw a raw, athletic defensive disruptor into the mix, I think it is more than worth the experiment.

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