Four-star wide receiver Chris Olave of San Marcos (California) Mission Hills announced his commitment to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon, choosing the Buckeyes over UCLA, USC and Utah. Some thoughts and a closer look at Ohio State’s scholarship situation are below:
• Given Ohio State returned all six of its leading receivers from last year and already signed three wideouts in the 2018 class — L’Christian “Blue” Smith, Cameron Brown and Kamryn Babb — it doesn’t make a ton of sense why the Buckeyes would take Olave, especially considering they are up against it numbers-wise. But if you peel back the curtain a little bit, it’s easier to understand why Ohio State made room for him. First, it’s about finding room for the elite-level players, but secondly, Ohio State is guaranteed to lose Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon after 2018. KJ Hill has also basically said next year will be his last. Adding Olave is about creating depth and experience when the Buckeyes have to replace their entire receiving corps in 2019.
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• Olave could legitimately start as a redshirt freshman. In 2019, Ohio State is likely going to be relying on Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor, Jaylen Harris and Elijah Gardiner, but that’s not enough depth. Add Babb, Brown, Olave and Smith into the mix — and who knows, maybe Brendon White? — in 2019, and you have a legitimate, full-sized receivers room. As of now, it doesn’t seem like finding another receiver was crucial in 2018, and maybe it wasn’t, but this move will make more sense in 18 months.
• Ohio State is going to have 12 scholarship wide receivers next year. That’s probably a few too many, but the room is losing a lot of talent after next season. And there’s no guarantee that Mack or Victor couldn’t have a big year next year and leave early. This is Urban Meyer covering his bases and getting a really good player in the process.
• If Trevon Grimes didn’t transfer to Florida, there probably wouldn’t be room for Olave in this class.
• Rated the No. 54 wide receiver in the 2018 class in the 247Sports composite rankings, Olave’s rating as a prospect probably doesn’t excite you, even if he is a four-star receiver. Remember this: Olave didn’t play his junior year because he transferred from Eastlake High School, which means he didn’t have a ton of tape entering his senior year. When a prospect doesn’t have a lot of tape, recruiting services — like coaches — are late to evaluate him, which has an impact on his rating. Given Ohio State had to fight off USC and UCLA to get him out of California, you should definitely be jazzed about this.
• Ohio State signed 21 players during the early signing period Dec. 20 and now has three commitments in Tyreke Smith, Tyler Friday and Olave — all of whom will sign Feb. 7. That means the Buckeyes have 24 players in a recruiting class that could reach as many as 26 or 27 commitments, depending on what kids on their board decide to do. Including Olave, Ohio State’s scholarship total is at 87 and counting, which means there must be some more roster turnover for the Buckeyes to get down to the NCAA-mandated 85 scholarships.
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• The Buckeyes still have a handful of major targets at other positions. Right now, Ohio State’s top-remaining priority is four-star offensive tackle Rasheed Walker of Waldorf (Maryland) North Point. For a more detailed list of Ohio State’s remaining targets and where the Buckeyes stand with them, click here.
— Reported from Columbus
Photo: Chris Olave (247Sports)
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Ari Wasserman is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting nationally. He previously spent 10 years covering Ohio State for The Athletic and Cleveland.com, starting on the Buckeyes beat in 2009. Follow Ari on Twitter @AriWasserman
