Ohio State Buckeyes: Four WR’s who will step up to replace Noah Brown
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Noah Brown suffered a devastating season-ending injury on Wednesday so who will have to step up?
Rumors were swirling last night at Ohio State practice that something horrible happened during said practice. The school canceled scheduled media interviews, and the players and coaches were all visibly upset. It didn’t take long for word to come out. The first Ohio State player to make any reference on Twitter came from wide receiver Corey Smith.
"Count yo blessings at all times NB I got bro"
It didn’t take long to realize he was talking about Noah Brown. Shortly after that tweet I got word from someone in attendance at practice that Brown broke his leg in what they described as something they wished they never saw and will never get the image out of their head.
Ohio State came out and confirmed what was being spread like wildfire on social media.
STATEMENT: So. WR Noah Brown suffered a left leg injury during practice today. He will have surgery tomorrow at OSU Med Center... MORE>>>
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) August 27, 2015
CONT STATEMENT: ...Brown, from Flanders, N.J., will miss the 2015 season but is expected to make a complete recovery.
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) August 27, 2015
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This news was obviously devastating to the coaches and players.
Brown had a really good camp and Meyer spent a lot of time talking about how much he improved in the offseason. He was primed to have a big role in the offense this season especially the first game with two wide receivers already suspended.
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Brown is a big wide receiver at 6’2″ and 225 pounds and was a great blocker and had sure hands. OSU defensive backs said Brown was nearly unstoppable in camp this year. We now know Brown is done for the year. He will take a medical redshirt and return next season at full health, but who will step up in his absence this year?
Ohio State is really deep at wide receiver and that is the good news, but the bad news is not many of those guys have much if any experience at all playing college football. Further complicating matters is Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith are suspended for the opener against Virginia Tech. So here are the candidates to replace Noah Brown especially in the first game.
Terry Mclaurin is a 6’1″ 200-pound wide receiver from Indiana. The redshirt freshman has not played a snap of college football yet but as a highly ranked recruit coming out of high school, he has the pedigree to be a good player. A guy who is a flat burner, he may not be as good of a blocker as Brown, but he can stretch the field better than Brown. A guy who has excelled in camp could get to see some early playing time against Virginia Tech.
Johnnie Dixon is a 5’11” 195-pound wide receiver from Florida. Dixon, who is also a redshirt freshman, has experience playing for Ohio State and actually had some success last season before being injured and redshirting. Dixon is coming off of a leg injury, is finally 100 percent healthy, and will see the field. The issue is he is smaller and not the same kind of receiver that Noah Brown is so how can OSU make that work? That is the million dollar question.
Jeff Greene is a 6’5″ 220-pound wide receiver from Georgia. Greene, who is a walk on fifth-year senior who transferred from Georgia Tech three years ago, has shown flashes in the Spring Game of what he can be. Greene is a huge player who has the stature to be a great blocker and can be that big receiver that you can just throw the ball up and let him go up and get it over always smaller defensive backs. To me he is too big not to use. With so many out for the first game, he will see the field.
Torrance Gibson is a 6’4″ 205-pound athlete from Florida. Gibson, who is a true freshman, came to Ohio State to play quarterback. It didn’t take long for Gibson to realize if he wants to play his freshman year he needed to try other positions. That decision looks even better now as the truly great athlete now has a legit shot to play wide receiver for Ohio State. His chances of playing in week one are incredible at this point. The only question is how ready is he to play receiver and how well can he learn the playbook. If he can do those things the sky the is the limit for this young Buckeye.