Matt Tamanini
Guest
You’re Nuts: Which young Buckeyes have shown flashes of superstardom?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: What are you hoping to learn about Ohio State before conference play?
Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Inniss hasn’t gotten to do a whole lot of receiving on offense this season, with a corps that includes veteran star Emeka Egbuka, freshman standout Jeremiah Smith, and steady force Carnell Tate.
Through the first three games, Inniss has had four receptions for 49 yards, averaging 12.3 yards per carry. Instead, Inniss has stepped up on special teams, helping his team in an area where they desperately needed it.
Setting aside a rocky special teams effort against the Marshall Thundering Herd this past weekend, Inniss has looked solid as a punt returner, returning nine punts for 87 yards—an average of 9.7 yards per return—with a long return of 36 yards.
Sure, he has his first muffed punt of the season against Marshall and it almost resulted in a turnover, but you try looking directly into the sun and catching a football. Let me know how that works out for you. The play was admittedly not great, but it happens, and in this case, it’s no sweat because a (lucky and questionable) flag against Marshall forced the Herd to re-kick the ball.
But overall, Inniss has demonstrated his prowess on a special teams unit that was, at this time last year, a major Achilles Heel for Ohio State. In the Buckeyes’ Week 1 game against Akron, Inniss returned four punts for 60 yards. In contrast, the team logged only 75 punt return yards in the entirety of the 2023 season. He singlehandedly exceeded that within three games.
He has marked the beginning of more aggressive special teams play for the Buckeyes with his “get the ball and go” approach, one which has benefitted the team in more ways than one. For starters, it’s proven challenging for opponents to defend, but more importantly, it’s prevented the ball from rolling, which can cost a decent amount of yards per roll and affect the Buckeyes’ field position.
But perhaps more importantly, his fearless and aggressive running style bodes well for how he would perform on offense. He has managed to elude opponents with his speed and excellent route running, and while he hasn’t been perfect, he has shown us enough of his potential that I feel confident he has what it takes to become a star on offense for the team, with just a little more time to mature into the role.
While it would be nice to see Inniss take more snaps on offense, especially as Egbuka, Smith and Tate start to feel the wear and tear of the extended season, I don’t expect him to start any time soon.
Still, he’s proven he can be an impact player, not just on special teams but on offense as well. In only the handful of reps he’s taken this season, he’s looked confident and dangerous, capped off by a beautiful 19-yard reception on 4th-and-8 that Inniss and quarterback Will Howard made look easy.
These flashes have shown his poise and explosiveness on offense, something that leads me to believe we’re going to hear his name a lot more in the future.
Allowing him to take more reps so our three more utilized receivers can rest up could help develop some additional depth for the Buckeyes and give Inniss the chance to gain valuable experience with the offense while keeping the other three healthy.
That same experience could prove vital for the Buckeyes as a whole next season, but it could also give Inniss the exact kind of reps that allow him to come into his own and set him up for a breakout season in 2025.
With guys in your position room like Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, it is difficult to imagine a true freshman even having that many opportunities to shine, but Buckeye rookie James Peoples has done just that in his limited action thus far.
The San Antonio native has only carried the ball 22 times so far this season, but those rushing attempts have resulted in 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is averaging a very solid 5.1 yards per carry average which is fairly good for a guy only getting into the game behind the second and third-team offensive line. He’s also had two runs of 10+ yards already.
But his performance can’t be boiled down to just traditional stats, on his 22 carries, he has forced seven missed tackles and has shown a combination of speed and power that make him incredibly fun to watch. While having only played in three collegiate football games, Peoples has proven to be impressively dynamic.
Due to transfers in and out, the former top-115 recruit has already found himself as the Buckeyes’ No. 3 running back. While I would not expect him to push for much more playing time than he’s already getting this season — barring major blowouts or anything unforeseen happening to Q or Trey — he will likely get enough carries to build up a decent level of experience to take the RB1 slot in 2025 after this year’s headliners depart for the NFL.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: What are you hoping to learn about Ohio State before conference play?
Jami’s Take: Brandon Inniss, Wide Receiver
Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Inniss hasn’t gotten to do a whole lot of receiving on offense this season, with a corps that includes veteran star Emeka Egbuka, freshman standout Jeremiah Smith, and steady force Carnell Tate.
Through the first three games, Inniss has had four receptions for 49 yards, averaging 12.3 yards per carry. Instead, Inniss has stepped up on special teams, helping his team in an area where they desperately needed it.
Setting aside a rocky special teams effort against the Marshall Thundering Herd this past weekend, Inniss has looked solid as a punt returner, returning nine punts for 87 yards—an average of 9.7 yards per return—with a long return of 36 yards.
Sure, he has his first muffed punt of the season against Marshall and it almost resulted in a turnover, but you try looking directly into the sun and catching a football. Let me know how that works out for you. The play was admittedly not great, but it happens, and in this case, it’s no sweat because a (lucky and questionable) flag against Marshall forced the Herd to re-kick the ball.
But overall, Inniss has demonstrated his prowess on a special teams unit that was, at this time last year, a major Achilles Heel for Ohio State. In the Buckeyes’ Week 1 game against Akron, Inniss returned four punts for 60 yards. In contrast, the team logged only 75 punt return yards in the entirety of the 2023 season. He singlehandedly exceeded that within three games.
He has marked the beginning of more aggressive special teams play for the Buckeyes with his “get the ball and go” approach, one which has benefitted the team in more ways than one. For starters, it’s proven challenging for opponents to defend, but more importantly, it’s prevented the ball from rolling, which can cost a decent amount of yards per roll and affect the Buckeyes’ field position.
But perhaps more importantly, his fearless and aggressive running style bodes well for how he would perform on offense. He has managed to elude opponents with his speed and excellent route running, and while he hasn’t been perfect, he has shown us enough of his potential that I feel confident he has what it takes to become a star on offense for the team, with just a little more time to mature into the role.
While it would be nice to see Inniss take more snaps on offense, especially as Egbuka, Smith and Tate start to feel the wear and tear of the extended season, I don’t expect him to start any time soon.
Still, he’s proven he can be an impact player, not just on special teams but on offense as well. In only the handful of reps he’s taken this season, he’s looked confident and dangerous, capped off by a beautiful 19-yard reception on 4th-and-8 that Inniss and quarterback Will Howard made look easy.
These flashes have shown his poise and explosiveness on offense, something that leads me to believe we’re going to hear his name a lot more in the future.
Allowing him to take more reps so our three more utilized receivers can rest up could help develop some additional depth for the Buckeyes and give Inniss the chance to gain valuable experience with the offense while keeping the other three healthy.
That same experience could prove vital for the Buckeyes as a whole next season, but it could also give Inniss the exact kind of reps that allow him to come into his own and set him up for a breakout season in 2025.
Matt’s Take: James Peoples
With guys in your position room like Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, it is difficult to imagine a true freshman even having that many opportunities to shine, but Buckeye rookie James Peoples has done just that in his limited action thus far.
The San Antonio native has only carried the ball 22 times so far this season, but those rushing attempts have resulted in 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is averaging a very solid 5.1 yards per carry average which is fairly good for a guy only getting into the game behind the second and third-team offensive line. He’s also had two runs of 10+ yards already.
But his performance can’t be boiled down to just traditional stats, on his 22 carries, he has forced seven missed tackles and has shown a combination of speed and power that make him incredibly fun to watch. While having only played in three collegiate football games, Peoples has proven to be impressively dynamic.
Due to transfers in and out, the former top-115 recruit has already found himself as the Buckeyes’ No. 3 running back. While I would not expect him to push for much more playing time than he’s already getting this season — barring major blowouts or anything unforeseen happening to Q or Trey — he will likely get enough carries to build up a decent level of experience to take the RB1 slot in 2025 after this year’s headliners depart for the NFL.
Let us know who you are agreeing with:
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