Urban Meyer’s recent wide receiver recruits at Ohio State have a common thread

“Everybody wants Julio Jones. They don’t come around very often.”

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer via Ben Axelrod, Land Of 10

There has been a common thread among many of the Ohio State wide receivers Urban Meyer has been recruiting recently. Height. In the 2017 recruiting class, all four of the receivers that Ohio State got commitments from measure at 6-foot-2 or taller. At 6-foot-5, Jaylen Harris stands out as Ohio State’s tallest receiver signee this year. 2017 isn’t the first year Ohio State has targeted taller receivers, but the trend of bigger receivers is becoming more apparent.

During Meyer’s time in Columbus, his most successful receiver has been Michael Thomas, who measured in at 6-3. Thomas excelled at Ohio State, and put together a tremendous rookie season in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. Last year, Noah Brown, who is 6-2, was Ohio State’s leading receiver with seven touchdown catches. Now, Meyer is hoping receivers like Binjimen Victor, who is listed at 6-3, and Austin Mack, who is 6-2, will be the next in the line of recent taller wide receivers who will be able to make a name for themselves and not only contribute to Ohio State’s success, but work their way to the NFL.

“At first it was pretty tough getting used to it because we had to get up so early, go to practice and then we had school stuff until whenever you pretty much got your stuff done. But I think it helped a little bit having some online classes because then you could get your stuff done on time.”

Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell via Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Tate Martell already has a semester under his belt at Ohio State, and while it did take a little time to adjust to life in Columbus, the freshman is starting to find his way. Martell and nine other Buckeye recruits enrolled early to try and get a leg up on the 2017 season, but there isn’t really anything that can prepare a football player for life at Ohio State. Not only did the quarterback have Ohio State’s playbook to wrap his head around, he also had to deal with the likes of defensive linemen Jalyn Holmes and Sam Hubbard trying to get at him in practice.

Luckily for Martell, not quite so much is expected from him this year, as fifth-year senior J.T. Barrett has a hold on the starting quarterback position. Even though Barrett will be the starter this year for Ohio State, Martell is still trying to make a name for himself and set himself up to make some noise next year, when Ohio State will be forced to have a new quarterback take the reigns after Barrett exhausts his eligibility. There’s no question that Martell has the confidence to succeed at Ohio State, now he just has to show it on the field, and early indications are that he is off to a good start.

“It’s the knowledge he brings to the table as a former player, but you can also tell how much research he puts in.”

Major League Gaming announcer Chris Puckett on Kirk Herbstreit via Andrew Bucholtz, Awful Announcing

Major League Broadcasting announcer Chris Puckett grew up in Columbus and is a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan. Puckett’s love for the Buckeyes though isn’t a reason he credits Kirk Herbstreit as his favorite analyst. Herbstreit’s announcing style is why Puckett admires Herbstreit’s work so much. Puckett can tell the research that Herbstreit puts in when preparing for games he is slated to call, and Herbstreit also adds a lot to the broadcast.

Over the last few years eSports have really taken off in this country, and Major League Gaming might have their own Herbstreit with Puckett. There are differences though between calling football and calling eSports. The pace of the game makes it so announcers at times have to quickly change their focus. Also, with calling different games, there are different strategies that will be used in the way announcers call the games. Puckett says that because of the career he has carved out in announcing, it changes the way he watches other sports. As Major League Gaming continues to grow, there is no doubt that Puckett has done Columbus proud.

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