Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd entered Ohio State expecting to make noise early, and while the numbers haven’t jumped off the page, the freshman wideouts may be staring at their best chance yet to do it Saturday against Maryland.
Through five games, Henry has only three catches for 105 yards, but two of those receptions have gone for touchdowns, including a 75-yard score that showed off his speed. Boyd has chipped in six catches for 110 yards. Even so, both have stayed in the receiver rotation and continued to earn snaps.
Ryan Day said Wednesday that the pair has held up physically and done their part in the run game.
"I think physically you're seeing them play well,” Day said after practice Wednesday. “Blocking, Iowa's got some physical guys, and they were mixing it up with them.”
Day also pointed to the way both freshmen have handled themselves as the season has worn on.
"Their attitudes have been good. They've had another good week of practice.
And that is a challenge for them now,” Day said. “We're getting into midseason, and this is an opportunity here to get some touches.
And we need to see that. We need to see these guys step up in the passing game for us.
And I think they did in the past game. I think they ran some good routes.
The ball didn’t always find them, but it’s going to soon.”
That possibility feels even more real after Ohio State’s first availability report of the week, which listed Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss as questionable for Saturday’s game against Maryland. Day had spoken around 6:30 p.m., and the injury report came out about an hour and a half later.
The playing time has been there for Henry and Boyd. According to Pro Football Focus, Henry has 122 snaps, third among Ohio State wide receivers behind Jeremiah Smith’s 233 and McCuin’s 190. Boyd is fifth with 111 snaps, just behind Inniss, who has 121.
A lot of those reps have come in run situations when both freshmen are on the field together. When Ohio State throws it, the ball has mostly gone to Smith, who has 44 catches. McCuin is next on the team with 17 receptions.
That hasn’t shaken Day’s view of the two young receivers.
"They're playing with confidence, and I can see them getting more and more opportunities in the passing game,” Day said. “When you run routes and you get open on film, the ball just finds a way to get to you. I think it's going to happen.”
Henry and Boyd may not be the only receivers with a chance to see more action. LSU transfer Kyle Parker is expected to play for the first time this season, Day said Tuesday. Parker came over from Baton Rouge after a 2025 season in which he caught 31 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
Parker missed the first five games with an injury, though he had been available the past two weeks and warmed up before games. Saturday should give Ohio State a first look at how it wants to use him.
If McCuin and Inniss are able to go, that could limit how much Henry and Boyd can expand their roles. But with Maryland standing as the weakest opponent left on Ohio State’s schedule, this looks like a real chance for the freshmen to show what they can do - whether that comes with a start or as part of the rotation.
In Other News...
Simeon Caldwell Is Giving Ohio States Secondary A New Decision To Make
Simeon Caldwell arrived at Ohio State with the kind of preseason expectations that usually keep a freshman safety in the background, but his early work has pushed him into a more meaningful spot in the Buckeyes secondary. He has seen the field in multiple games already, and his usage has grown as the coaching staff has continued to trust him more in the defensive rotation. The staffs interest in him has only sharpened because he brings versatility to a room that already has plenty of competition.
Caldwells most notable opportunities have come in expanded snaps against Iowa, where he held up well in coverage and showed he can tackle in space. His role has been growing in nickel and dime packages, the kind of subpackages that demand safeties who can handle tight ends and bigger receivers without sacrificing too much on the back end. For Ohio State, that kind of flexibility gives the defense another option to sort through, and it could keep changing how the secondary is deployed from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Few Injury Questions At The Worst Time
Ohio States first availability report for the Maryland game brought a few expected bumps, but the overall picture was still fairly manageable. The Buckeyes entered the week with several players either out or uncertain, yet the list also suggested the roster is generally in good shape heading into the matchup.
The biggest concern for the offense is the status of wide receivers Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss, both of whom were listed as questionable. On the other side of the ball, safety Leroy Roker III was ruled out, leaving Ohio State to sort through a handful of late-week injury questions at a time when depth and stability matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's First Preseason Result Just Raised A Real Roster Debate
Ohio State opened its preseason slate with an unofficial exhibition against Cincinnati at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, a tune-up that offered an early look at the Buckeyes in game action while also serving as part of the CareSource Invitational, an event tied to mental health awareness. The result, a 79-68 loss, is the kind of preseason outcome that matters less in the standings than in the questions it can surface, especially for a roster still sorting out roles and rhythm before the games count.
John Mobley Jr. was the bright spot for Ohio State, finishing with a team-high 15 points in his first action of his junior season. The Buckeyes now turn to another exhibition, a matchup with Butler on October 25 at the Schottenstein Center, where there will be another chance to see which pieces are settling in and which ones still leave coach and fans with a real roster debate. [Read more 🡒]