COLUMBUS, Ohio — The slot receiver position has been a staple of Ohio State’s offense for well over a decade.
Since Ryan Day’s arrival in 2017, that position has never had a problem getting the ball. Whoever’s played it has left the Buckeyes in catches five times and was second the other three times. That position is responsible for having two different players break the school record for catches in a single season and two others break the school record for catches in a career.
The slot receiver has become the best bet in the question of who’s going to get the ball every year. So why hasn’t that been the case for Brandon Inniss? And should we be concerned about it?
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“He’s a guy who, whatever his job description is, he’s done it at a high level,” offensive coordinator Brian Hartline said. His role is gonna change constantly based on the defense and what they do. But anything we ask him to do, he does at a high level. I’m not really concerned about the job description, as it’s just where he fits this week and weeks moving forward. How defenses want to account for him. The tool sets are vast. How we want to use him is probably what’s gonna change the most week to week. But he’s done a great job.”
Inniss has played snaps this season, catching five passes for 37 yards on six targets, having yet to reach the end zone. He’s supposed to be part of a wide receiver trio that can rival any of the others Hartline’s had as an assistant coach. But right now, it feels like he’s just playing third wheel alongside two established entities in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. The former has turned 26 targets into 20 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns. The latter’s turned 14 targets into 12 catches for 219 yards and three touchdowns.
Inniss hasn’t gotten his chance to shine yet. Sure, it can be hard to get three guys the ball, especially when the top two demand so much attention. But he wouldn’t be the first guy to do that here. His situation is no different than Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s in 2021, who was the third option behind Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, yet he still found a way to shine.
But that’s not what Inniss was asked to do during the first three weeks. He was asked to be selfless and do a lot of the dirty work, even if the targets weren’t there yet. OSU wanted to spend time tinkering with things and showing off just how many ways it could use its tight ends while also slowly working in a new quarterback.
That’s why Inniss only has six targets, while having a catch against Ohio, and Hartline still thinks he’s playing well.
“It’s kind of like whether you play a really good basketball game, even if you didn’t score,” Hartline said. ”Elite basketball players talk about how to take a shot; it takes one or two seconds. To let 10 seconds (or) five missed shots impact 30 minutes of play is a small-minded approach. Even though it may not be a catch, the impact of getting to the right blocks and being in the right spot and everything that we do ultimately dictates whether you have a good game or not. When you have 110 yards on five catches, but you had a lot of (missed assignments), you did not have a good football game, even though everybody wants to praise you. But that’s not how this is built.
“Ultimately, you’re trying to do things other guys can’t do or won’t do or haven’t done. That’s what sports are all about, the individual being different than his peer and the collective as a group being different than the other team. Our team vs their team,
We’ve seen three games this season and the meat of the season starts in two weeks when the Buckeyes head out to Washington. There’s still plenty of time for Inniss to get more involved in the offense. Given the attention Smith and Tate might draw, it’s only a matter of time until that means more opportunities for Inniss. More chances to prove that seven years of highly productive play isn’t just about to stop now that the role is his.
This is still the Ohio State offense, and history tells us the slot receiver gets the ball in Ohio State’s offense. A lot.
“Brandon’s done a good job at his job description regardless of where the target has been, and that’s gotta continue,” Hartline said. Obviously, that’s gonna change over time. It’s Ohio State’s offense. It’s always gonna be Ohio State’s offense. The slot is always a big part of what we do.”