Brandon Inniss has spent years being the guy Ohio State trusted even when he wasn’t the guy touching the ball the most.
That’s changed the conversation heading into his senior season. The Buckeyes already know what Jeremiah Smith brings - a receiver who is arguably the best player in college football and a magnet for double teams, bracket looks and defensive game plans. What Ohio State needs now is the player on the other side who can make defenses regret all that attention.
Inniss is the best candidate for that job.
He enters 2026 as more than a veteran wideout. He’s already one of the program’s most respected voices, a player teammates and coaches have praised for years, and someone the locker room voted a captain in 2025 even before he became a focal point of the offense. Now the challenge is bigger: turn that leadership and trust into production that actually bends defenses.
The path here was never going to be easy. Inniss arrived in Columbus with plenty of hype, coming out of American Heritage as one of the top receivers in the 2023 recruiting class and a five-star prospect.
But Ohio State’s receiver room is a brutal place to break through. Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate all came through that pipeline, and patience has always been part of the deal.
Inniss stayed with it. He didn’t bolt when the snaps weren’t immediate.
He kept earning the staff’s trust, kept developing, and kept growing into a player the program could lean on. That eventually turned him into an Iron Buckeye, a captain and, in 2025, a starter.
Last season, he finished with 36 catches for 271 yards and three touchdowns while also handling punt returns. Solid numbers, sure.
But they don’t fully capture what he meant to the offense. His value showed up in the little things that coaches obsess over: blocking, dependable hands, vocal leadership and the kind of detail work that keeps you on the field.
Now Ohio State needs more than that baseline.
If Smith is going to draw the top cornerbacks, the extra safety help and the bracket coverage, then someone else has to cash in on the space that opens up. Inniss is the most natural fit.
At roughly 6-foot and 199 pounds, he’s built on precision and toughness rather than pure flash. His route running is polished, his hands are strong, and he has the awareness to find holes in zone coverage.
He also plays with the kind of edge Ryan Day values. He blocks like a running back.
He competes after the catch. He’s willing to take contact over the middle.
That’s the sort of profile that doesn’t always light up a highlight reel, but it absolutely changes drives.
If Inniss becomes the reliable WR2 or WR3 Ohio State needs, the offense gets a lot harder to defend. Third-and-six, second-and-long, red zone - those are the spots where experienced receivers earn their keep.
The Buckeyes don’t need him to chase 1,000 yards. They need him to punish defenses for overloading Smith and to become a steady target for Julian Sayin.
That’s where this season gets interesting. Sayin’s ability to process quickly and distribute accurately should create more chances for complementary receivers, and Arthur Smith’s expected emphasis on play action, exotic formations and favorable matchups could give Inniss the clean opportunities he needs.
There’s also the simple reality of timing. This is Inniss’ last chance to fully show why he was such a prized recruit in the first place.
He already has the leadership piece. He already has the trust.
He knows the offense, has developed physically over four years and now has a quarterback who can get the ball where it needs to go.
If it all comes together, Inniss won’t just be another name in Ohio State’s receiver pipeline. He could be the piece that keeps defenses from selling out on Jeremiah Smith and the player who helps define how high this offense can go.
In Other News...
Ohio State Is Suddenly Building Something Big In The 2028 Class
Ohio States 2028 recruiting board is starting to take shape in a way that should get Buckeyes fans paying attention early. The program already has a commitment from wide receiver Jett Harrison, and it has kept pressing for more help at the position, including Carson LaCombe, who picked up an offer after visiting campus. For a class that is still years from signing day, that kind of early traction suggests the staff is not just filling spots, but trying to stack premium talent at the skill positions.
The quarterback pursuit is moving right alongside it, with Christopher Vargas among the top 2028 names to know after making a campus visit. Ohio State has made him a major focus of the class, and the early buzz around his recruitment has only added to the sense that the Buckeyes are trying to build something sizable before the cycle really takes off. If the current momentum holds, this could become one of those classes that starts with a few key dominoes and quickly turns into a much bigger haul. [Read more 🡒]
Buckeyes Fans Wont Like Where This Rivalry Money Idea Could Lead
College footballs money chase has already changed plenty about the sport, and one of the louder recent voices in that conversation is Josh Pate. During a podcast segment about why he should be the sports commissioner, Pate floated the idea of leaning on private equity as a way to ease the financial strain created by neutral-site games and the broader cost pressures around the game, pointing to matchups like Georgia Tech and Georgia as the kind of setup where such a fix could matter.
For Ohio State fans, the unsettling part is less the theory than where it could lead if ideas like this keep gaining traction. A system built to patch over the economics of big rivalry games would almost certainly be welcomed by plenty of the Buckeyes rivals, especially if it helps them turn marquee dates into bigger paydays. The concept is still speculative, but it is the sort of proposal that could reshape how college football thinks about tradition, travel and the value of games that have always been bigger than the check attached to them. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Suddenly Has A New QB Pipeline Question
Ohio States quarterback recruiting picture has taken an unexpected turn, with Brady Edmunds still committed to the Buckeyes 2027 class but now facing real buzz around a possible move to UCLA. If that happens, it would leave Ryan Day and his staff staring at a rare gap in a class where quarterback depth is usually one of the programs biggest priorities.
So the search has already shifted forward, and Day is working hard on Christopher Vargas, a five-star passer in the 2028 class who has been on campus multiple times and seems to have genuine interest in the Buckeyes. Ohio State is believed to be in a strong position there, but the commitment is not locked in yet, and the next few months will tell whether the Buckeyes can keep that pipeline from going dry. [Read more 🡒]