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“Garrett Wilson didn’t take long to introduce himself at Ohio State. But when it comes to turning an impressive spring into actual playing time, Lettermen Row senior writer Austin Ward pointed out that Wilson will have to deal with a veteran group at that position”
There has been a lot of hype surrounding many of the incoming freshman for the Buckeyes, and with the offense and defense both losing some key players, there is some room for these young guys to play valuable minutes. One of those freshman in the pursuit for minutes is wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
This heightened attention is for two reasons. The first being Wilson was an incredibly highly ranked recruit and was the No. 2 receiver in the country and the 17th overall prospect, according to ESPN. The second reason is due to the lose Ohio State has faced at the receiver position. With Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon all heading to the draft, there is a lot of opportunities for new guys to step in and make an immediate impact.
So the question that Buckeye fans have been asking is what role will Garrett Wilson play in new head coach Ryan Day’s offense. Normally, the use of freshman receivers is not popular for the Buckeyes and they rely on the veterans and the upper class men to provide most of the contributions to the offense.
However, with three top receivers leaving and Wilson being one the more anticipated receivers in recent history, there is no reason he should not be a regular contributor for Brian Hartline and Ryan Day. Wilson has shown flashes of greatness in spring practice and was immediately impressive in the spring game last Saturday.
While the top three receivers (KJ Hill, Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor) are pretty set going into the season and most people see Chris Olave hopping into that fourth spot, Wilson should still get many chances to prove himself as a viable option as a freshman for Justin Fields or Matthew Baldwin.
Something that people noticed during the spring game was the connection that Baldwin and Wilson had, as some people called it the Lake Travis connection. Both of these Buckeyes attended Lake Travis High School in Texas, and that connection was evident when they stepped on the field (and scored a touchdown) in the spring game.
“Entering his first season as Ohio State men’s basketball head coach in fall 2017, Chris Holtmann went to Barnes and Noble to pick up a preseason college basketball preview from a local publication. To his surprise, no Ohio State players were featured on the cover.”
When Chris Holtmann took over this Ohio State program in 2017, it was in a dark place. They had one NCAA tournament appearance in the last three years, and in 2016 they missed the NIT.
They had their entire 2015 recruiting class transfer to other schools, lost commitments from stars like Darius Bazley and Dane Goodwin and they were struggling in the grad transfer market. It by no means was going to be an easy turnaround for the former Gardner-Webb and Butler head coach.
Now fast forward to 2019. In two years, the Buckeyes are 2-2 in the NCAA tournament after being predicted to miss it both seasons, cracked the top 10 in Holtmann’s first year and is predicted by some sites to be a preseason top 10 team next season. They also have the top class in the Big Ten coming to Columbus, too.
After the majority of their offense left last season, many people thought the Buckeyes would finish near the bottom of the conference. Even though it was an up and down season, Holtmann and the Buckeyes still made the tournament as an 11 seed and even pulled off a first round upset over the 6 seeded Iowa State Cyclones.
Assuming Kaleb Wesson returns from the NBA draft this season, which he should, the Buckeyes can easily compete for a Big Ten championship and a high seed in the NCAA tournament. They could very well add another player in the grad transfer market but even if they do not, they are still poised for their best season under Holtmann thus far.
“Ohio State sprinter Nick Gray, a Pickerington native, broke two school records this past weekend during a track meet at the University of South Carolina. The OSU 100m time Gray ran, 10.17s, broke Owens’s school record which had stood for more than 80 years. Gray also ran a 20.20s in the 200m dash, breaking a record which had stood more than 25 years.”
Nick Gray is one of the best sprinters in recent history for Ohio State, but now he is going down in the record books for a long time. Gray broke Jesse Owens’ school record that had stood for more than 80 years, running a blazing 10.17 in the 100m.
Nick Gray’s 10.17 100m broke Jesse Owens’ Ohio State school record, which had stood for 80 years since 1939! pic.twitter.com/anzw0anXAQ
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 14, 2019
Questionable Photoshop graphics aside, this graphic from FloTrack paints a good picture of just how impressive breaking this record is.
Nick Gray is a decorated senior from Pickerington, Ohio. His personal records and achievements are all impressive and he has continued to shine in his senior season as these broken records prove.
Congratulations to Nick for setting such a historic record!
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