Despite falling short to fulfill the title dream, OSU’s offensive strength didn’t fade under Brian Hartline’s guidance in 2025. The WR room in particular stayed excellent, with talents like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, among others. In 2026, Ryan Day’s OSU secured some portal pieces and freshman talent in the receiver room. But getting a reliable player at WR2 has became a problem.

“My question, if you look past Jeremiah Smith, is do they have a real, bona fide wide receiver to emerge?” said Josh Pate during his June appearance on the Crain & Cone show. “I don’t mean looking at his ratings out of high school. I know what Brandon Inniss was out of high school. I’m sky high on Chris Henry Jr. and I think that freshman, but I want to see which one of them emerges, because if it’s just Jeremiah Smith and then no one within 1000 or 1200 yards receiving of him, that’s a little different dynamic.”

“Because as good as Jeremiah Smith is, once you get into those big games in the deeper waters, any team, if they really choose to, can limit his production. It’s just, what do you have to sacrifice to do it? But if you don’t have anybody else that stepped up, they can afford to roll those dice,” added the ON3 analyst. “I have a hard time thinking Ohio State’s gonna go through a whole year and not have guys emerge, because that’s such a poor concept in the Ohio State wide receiver room.”

Last season, to help Smith, there was Tate. Whenever Smith was limited by rivals, Tate made enough scores to keep OSU’s offense at an elite spot. Both of their dominant performances against Wisconsin led OSU to a 34-0 victory. Even against Michigan, this duo’s outstanding play in the 2nd half helped OSU to break its four-year losing streak.

But in 2026, Smith will not have Tate, because the former Buckeye was selected as the No. 4 overall pick for the 2026 NFL draft. Following Tate’s NFL departure, a new challenge arises for Jeremiah Smith, given he has always had a more senior receiver next to him. During his freshman season in Columbus, he had Emeka Egbuka, and then in his sophomore season, Tate took that place. However, that’s not the case in his third season with the Buckeyes.

The WR depth behind Smith is filled with younger talents or has less starting experience and statistical production. This will be the first time he’ll be more senior in the WR room. That does not only mean he has to take more responsibility, but rival defenses can also focus on him as the rest are a bit “weaker.” It could cost Ryan Day’s OSU big, and Pate echoed that same sentiment.

But OSU has options at WR2. Brandon Inniss has returned for his senior season after serving a supporting role in 2025, recording 271 yards and TDs. This season, he is expected to play better and lead a role behind Smith. However, his last season’s blunders can’t be overlooked. Now, in all likelihood, the freshman WR Chris Henry Jr. will get that secondary spot. Though he joined OSU as a No. 1 WR in the 2026 recruiting class, he has no experience of playing for one of the popular B1G powerhouses.

The freshman WR is developing and flashed some intelligence during spring. However, for Jeremiah Smith, the challenge isn’t limited to finding a WR partner.

OSU have to face another pressure in 2026

“Remember, this is the first year that they will play without Brian Hartline, who took the USF job, so that’s just interesting to watch,” said ON3 analyst Josh Pate during his appearance on the Crain & Cone show.

With Brian Hartline at the helm, Jeremiah Smith gave standout performances over the last two years for the Buckeyes. But now, Smith has no Hartline, as the former OSU OC took a head coaching job at South Florida. So, OSU’s offensive strength can differ.

“But that’s such a rock-solid program. I actually consider it the number one program in college football right now. I just didn’t say it’s hard,” added Pate.

OSU brought in OC Arthur Smith in place of Brian Hartline. The new OC brings new strategies to gain more success. But the WR room doesn’t have that kind of talent that OSU had last year. Yet, it’s not short on options, as they have transfer additions like Devin McCuin and Kyle Parker and then freshman talents like Brock Boyd, Jerquaden Guilford, and so on.

Now, let’s see who emerges to help Jeremiah Smith.