Ryan Day isn’t hiding the excitement around Brock Boyd anymore.
The Ohio State freshman receiver has already made noise in spring ball, and that momentum carried into the first scrimmage of fall camp. Now, with the season getting closer and the Buckeyes sorting out who will actually be on the field, Day made it clear Boyd has forced his way into the conversation.
“I think that he's gonna play. How much is to be determined, but he will play.
Somebody who's had a really good camp. He's practiced every day.
When you're out there every day, and you're playing with the ones and twos, and you're mixing yourself in there, he's gotten a lot of reps with the ones in the past week; you continually get better. Julian is comfortable throwing him the ball.
He's got really good body language in and out of breaks. He's smart, knows how to run routes, can play multiple positions.
I think as he continues to work this week, he's going to find himself playing a lot this week."
That’s a strong endorsement for a player who came to Columbus as a three-star recruit out of Texas. Boyd wasn’t the kind of prospect that drew the loudest national buzz, but he’s quickly making a case that he could be one of the biggest value adds in Ohio State’s 2026 class.
Day sounds confident Boyd can handle a meaningful role, and even floated the idea that he could end up as the third or fourth receiver on the depth chart. For a freshman who arrived without much fanfare, that’s a serious climb.
The Buckeyes’ receiver room also looks deep enough that Boyd won’t be the only young name in the mix. Day said later in the press conference that he could reasonably see as many as six receivers playing this season: Jeremiah Smith, Devin McCuin, Brandon Inniss, Kyle Parker, Henry Jr., and Boyd.
He also said this group is deeper than it was a year ago. With a tough schedule ahead, that kind of depth matters. And if Boyd keeps stacking good days like he has so far, Ohio State may have found another freshman who can help right away.
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Ohio State is already drawing national attention before the 2026 season even gets going, and the reason is obvious: the Buckeyes are packed with players showing up on preseason honor lists across the sport. Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin are among the names landing on preseason All-American teams and watch lists from major outlets and awards groups, while the program keeps popping up in the kind of early buzz that usually signals a roster with real postseason expectations.
The reach goes beyond the headline names, too. Ohio State had a large contingent selected to the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1000 and the Senior Bowl 300, a reminder of how many Buckeyes are already being viewed as future pros. The bigger question now is how all of that individual recognition will translate once the season starts and the targets on this roster begin to matter more than the preseason applause. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Sabans Ohio State Story Is Hard For Buckeyes Fans To Ignore
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Sabans Ohio State run ended after the 1981 Liberty Bowl amid a reported disagreement in philosophy, but the split did not slow his climb. He went on to assistant stops at Navy, Michigan State and Toledo, along with NFL work, before becoming a head coach at Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. The rest of the story is familiar enough by now, with seven national championships in the background, which makes that brief, messy Columbus stop all the harder for Ohio State supporters to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Heads Into The Season With One Big Unknown
Ohio State is moving through the late stages of fall camp with the usual preseason rhythm, but the calendar is starting to matter now. The Buckeyes held their 14th practice, including a scrimmage at Ohio Stadium, with the season opener against Ball State still two weeks away, and the program also announced its 2026 Block O recipient while naming seven team captains ahead of the upcoming season.
Ryan Day has already offered his view of where the team stands, and there will be another chance to hear from him Monday at a scheduled press conference. For a roster that has checked off some of the leadership boxes and is continuing to get work in game-like settings, the biggest question is no longer about effort or structure - it is about how the team answers the one thing everyone around the program is still waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]