The top 20 Ohio State football players for 2009: No. 15, Ray Small
by Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
Thursday August 06, 2009
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Ray Small
No. 15: Senior receiver Ray Small
A guy whose status as a Buckeye seems to be constantly up in the air as the 15th-best player on a team picked to win the conference?
Yep. And Small is listed as the top guy among all the OSU receiver candidates. DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher were lower on the list, and you won't find Taurian Washington or Lamaar Thomas or true freshman Duron Carter above him.
But Small's not here because he's a receiver. He's here more as a punt returner - and also as a guy who might have the most explosive potential among the OSU receivers. Of course, potential isn't a word you typically want to use when talking about a senior.
Still, among the 23 individual statistical categories tracked by the Big Ten, a Buckeye led the way in two of them last season. One was Terrelle Pryor topping the conference in passing efficiency. The other was Small winning in punt return average, and he led by a lot, 15.2 yards per return compared to 11.9 yards for the second-best returner.
Sure, there are enough fast and elusive guys on the OSU roster for the Buckeyes to be able to find another return guy if Small isn't around. But at this point, nobody on the team puts together the experience and skill at returner that Small would offer.
And I still think he could help a good amount at receiver as a No. 3 guy, or at least splitting that job.