Better Know a Buckeye: Brock Boyd Has Quickly Made a Name For Himself at Ohio State and Appears to Have Sky-High Ceiling
Depth Chart Outlook
Smith has one starting spot at wide receiver locked up, but the rest of the depth chart is still being determined. Devin McCuin is emerging as the frontrunner to start at Z, and Brandon Inniss will very likely start in the slot, but there remains plenty of competition for playing time behind.
Fellow freshmen Chris Henry Jr. and Jerquaden Guilford were viewed as the top first-year candidates to challenge McCuin, Inniss and Kyle Parker for playing time, but then came Boyd's dominant spring. He lost his black stripe after just six practices as a Buckeye, becoming the third-fastest freshman to shed his stripe since Urban Meyer started the tradition in 2012, behind only Smith (four practices) and Carnell Tate (five practices).
With that, Boyd is now in the mix to earn real playing time in the receiver rotation. While Smith, McCuin and Inniss are the likely starters, and Henry might be the next man up behind them, Boyd has earned some playing time as a freshman at the very least. How much playing time is the question, but his surge up the depth chart during the spring didn't go unnoticed.
“Both of them guys, they’re gonna be very special,” Smith said of Guilford and Boyd in March. “Those guys just came in, keeping their heads down, just working. You're gonna see a lot of them. They're gonna get on the field a lot this year.”
Ohio State's first-year wide receiver coach, Cortez Hankton, agreed and explained what has already stood out in Boyd's game at OSU.
“He's made plays when his number has been called,” Hankton said during spring practice. “What makes Brock truly a good football player is his football IQ, first and foremost. As a young guy, he's truly instinctive, and he understands conceptual football. You can tell that he comes from a (football) family. His dad is a high school football coach, and so he comes from a family where they live, eat and breathe football. And so he understands the game like he's a three-year college student, like he's been here a while.”
Even if Boyd doesn't start at all this season, he could very well do so in 2027, as Smith, Inniss and McCuin could all be gone after this season.
“Playing early is definitely something I want to work towards, but I want to be developed enough to where I can get into those games and hit the ground running and dive right in,” Boyd said in April 2025. “By the time the fall rolls around, I hope to be adjusted to the speed of the game really well because I know it’s a big jump.”
Player Comparison: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Living up to this will certainly be tough. Smith-Njigba was a highly productive high school wide receiver in Texas – just like Boyd – before becoming one of the best Ohio State wide receivers in program history. JSN holds Ohio State’s single-season records for receptions (95) and receiving yards (1,606) and led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards in 2025, when he also led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship and was named AP Offensive Player of the Year.
In three NFL seasons, Smith-Njigba has totaled 282 catches (393 targets) for 3,551 yards and 20 touchdowns in 51 games (36 starts). That follows an Ohio State career in which he had 110 receptions for 1,698 yards and 10 touchdowns in 23 games.
JSN is known for his route-running ability, speed when it's needed, and ability to get open in any window and in any part of the field, whether he's in the slot or on the outside. At 6-0 and 197 pounds, he adjusts his body to give himself the best opportunity to catch any pass, all while making big-time plays when he has the ball in his hands.
And when he doesn't have the ball, JSN isn't afraid to make a big block for a teammate or even fake like he's getting the ball to open the field for a teammate running with it.
That, in many ways, perfectly describes Boyd. While it's a lofty expectation and a huge comparison given what JSN did at Ohio State and everything he has already accomplished in three NFL seasons, Boyd's stock soared this spring. It will likely continue to rise as he gains more experience in Columbus, all while becoming more comfortable at Ohio State and learning from the best of the best.
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