How much can actually be learned in Saturday’s blowout win over Ball State? Gene and Matt each think they saw something significant from the Buckeyes in the opener.
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What was the most important thing we learned from the Ball State game?
How much can actually be learned in Saturday’s blowout win over Ball State? Gene and Matt each think they saw something significant from the Buckeyes in the opener.
Devin McQuin is the perfect complement to Jeremiah Smith
I do not disagree with Gene about the importance of the young players performing well on Saturday, and there were a number of other things we learned from Ohio State’s 56-3 season-opening win over Ball State. However, the thing that I think will end up being most meaningful this season is that Devin McQuin is going to be a much bigger part of this offense than I think many anticipated when he transferred from UTSA.
Obviously, there are all of the standard Week 1 disclaimers. Ball State is not Texas, Oregon, Indiana, or even Illinois for that matter. The Cardinals were overmatched athletically, Ohio State didn’t have to dig very deep into the playbook, and virtually everything we saw Saturday should be viewed through that lens.
But McQuin looked like exactly the type of player that Julian Sayin is going to need opposite Jeremiah Smith.
The senior caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown before leaving early in the third quarter, but it wasn’t simply the box score that impressed me. He ran crisp routes, consistently created enough separation, fought through contact to get into the end zone, and made multiple catches that required more than simply being wide open against inferior defenders. He looked like an experienced, reliable receiver who understands how to get where his quarterback expects him to be.
That might not sound as exciting as some of the younger receivers on Ohio State’s roster. Chris Henry Jr. has absurd upside despite the drops. Brock Boyd had his first career catch. Phillip Bell showed his talents on a punt return that was wiped out by a penalty, and there are plenty of others who have the type of athleticism that makes it very easy to start dreaming about what they could become. But the Buckeyes don’t necessarily need McQuin to become the next first-round receiver in WRU’s assembly line (although he very well might). What they need him to be is dependable.
We already know that defensive coordinators are going to do everything legally permissible — and probably a few things that aren’t — to keep Jeremiah Smith from taking over games. He is going to see brackets, double teams, safeties shaded in his direction, and occasionally enough defensive attention that somebody else simply has to win one-on-one matchups in order to pick up first downs and get into the end zone. McQuin looks like he can be that somebody.
Ryan Day raised plenty of eyebrows during camp when he said that McQuin was “as good as we’ve had here,” especially considering the receivers who have passed through Columbus in recent years. One game against Ball State certainly doesn’t validate that comparison, but it did make the preseason hype feel considerably less hyperbolic.
Jeremiah Smith is the biggest star and most talented player on this team. But if McQuin can consistently punish defenses for devoting too much attention to J.J., Ohio State’s passing attack becomes exponentially more difficult to defend. And after one game, I’m increasingly convinced that is exactly what he is going to do.
