The Ohio State football program is currently preparing to defend its 2024-25 national championship, with the start of this year's college football season less than a week away. This past spring, the Buckeyes lost wide receiver Emeka Egbuka to the NFL Draft, where he was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they still have arguably the best player in college football in rising sophomore wideout Jeremiah Smith.
Egbuka joins a long list of former Ohio State players in the NFL, giving the Buckeyes a legitimate claim as the best wide receiver factory in the country, known by many fans as WRU.
Recently, Sam Block of ESPN put into perspective just how many elite wide receivers Ohio State football has produced over the years with a list on X, formerly Twitter.
“Garrett Wilson… $130 Million. Terry McLaurin… $96 Million. Marvin Harrison Jr… $35 Million. Curtis Samuel… $24 Million. Chris Olave… $19 Million. Emeka Egbuka… $18 Million. Jameson Williams… $17 Million. Jaxon Smith-Njigba… $14 Million,” he wrote in his post.
“Stop debating. Ohio State is WRU,” he added.
McLaurin agreed to the $96 million extension with the Commanders on Monday, giving Ohio State another highly paid wide receiver in the NFL.
While some of the players on the list, including most notably Jameson Williams, are not as well-known for their time at Ohio State as they are at other schools, that still doesn't diminish Ohio State's potential role in their development.
A storied tradition for the Buckeyes
Jeremiah Smith sure looks like the next elite wide receiver for Ohio State in a long line of players who fall into that category. Smith torched opposing defenses all year last season as an 18 year-old freshman, including hauling in the game-clenching catch against Notre Dame to help the Buckeyes win their first national championship in a decade.
Smith enters this year viewed by many as one of the, if not the best player in college football, and he'll have plenty of help in that department as well.
The Buckeyes now just have a few days to get things in order before they kick off their 2025 season at home against Texas in a playoff rematch on Saturday at 12:00 PM ET.
