Ohio State may have to wait a little longer to see Kyle Parker in the mix.
Ryan Day said Tuesday that the LSU transfer has been sidelined during training camp with an injury, leaving his status unclear as the Buckeyes move toward the 2026 season.
“Kyle has been out here for a little while,” Day said Tuesday. “We’re hopeful to get him back soon.”
Parker arrived in Columbus this offseason after following former LSU receivers coach Cortez Hankton to Ohio State. Hankton, who spent four seasons with the Tigers, was hired by Day to replace Brian Hartline.
At LSU, Parker totaled 34 catches for 385 yards and five touchdowns. He is entering his fourth of a possible five college seasons after signing with the Tigers as a four-star recruit in 2023.
If Parker gets back on the field, he’ll join a receiver group that already looks loaded. Ohio State has starters Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss back from last season and also brought in Devin McCuin through the transfer portal. The Buckeyes added even more firepower in their high school class, with Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd headlining the group.
Ohio State also made the cut for one of the sport’s top young receivers on Tuesday.
Malachi Lee, a four-star prospect in the 2028 class, named a top 12 that includes the Buckeyes. Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, Texas A&M, Rutgers, Miami, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Florida and Arizona State also landed on his list.
Lee is ranked No. 48 overall, No. 8 among receivers and as the top player from Virginia in his class.
In Other News...
Ohio State Defense Faces An Early Test It Can't Dodge
Ohio States defense has no shortage of names to sort through after losing a wave of elite production from last season, and the first real chance to start answering those questions comes against Ball State. The Buckeyes are trying to replace proven playmakers at multiple spots, with the linebacker room drawing particular attention and several transfers expected to be part of the solution as the staff figures out what this group looks like in live action.
Jay Timmons is one of the more intriguing pieces in that mix, a freshman cornerback whose role could grow as the season settles in. For a defense that needs both confidence and chemistry, a game like this matters beyond the final score because it gives Ohio State a chance to see which combinations hold up, which ones need more time, and where the early uncertainty still lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Is Giving Jim Tressel One Of Its Highest Honors
Ohio State is adding Jim Tressel to one of the programs most visible tributes, with his name set to join the Ring of Honor at Ohio Stadium. It is a fitting nod to a coach whose tenure in Columbus helped define an era, from the 2003 national championship to eight Big Ten titles, all of which will now be part of the display alongside his name.
Tressels place in Buckeyes history has long been secure, and this honor only reinforces how central his run from 2001 through 2010 remains to the programs identity. Already in the College Football Hall of Fame, he now gets another permanent reminder inside the stadium where his teams built so many of their biggest moments. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Just Reopened A Debate Ohio State Fans Never Settled
Jaxon Smith-Njigba revisited one of the most lingering Ohio State what-ifs during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Show, where he addressed the hamstring injury that kept him out of the College Football Playoff and his decision not to play. He said he wanted to be on the field to help Ohio State win a national championship, but the injury left him unable to go, putting a painful cap on a season that had already made him one of the Buckeyes most electric playmakers.
Since then, Smith-Njigba has only added to the intrigue around that missed opportunity. He has become one of the NFLs top receivers, leading the league in receiving yards and earning a contract extension, which only sharpens the old debate over how much Ohio State might have gained if he had been able to suit up. For Buckeyes fans, it is the kind of conversation that never really dies, especially when the player at the center of it has gone on to prove just how high his ceiling really was. [Read more 🡒]