Ohio State's best portal addition came late and it sets up what should be an incredible battle on the Buckeyes' offense.
The Ohio State Buckeyes needed to make a portal splash, and the program did with one of their final signings of the portal window. LSU transfer Kyle Parker signed on with the Buckeyes as a four-star transfer recruit.
Parker's stats aren't going to jump off the screen at you.
Last season, he played in all 13 games for the Tigers, hauling in just 31 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns. In the two seasons prior to that, Parker was redshirted in his first year and had minimal action in year two.
As a redshirt junior, he has three years of eligibility remaining and is looking to take the No. 2 spot behind star Jeremiah Smith.
While Parker's numbers are average, his tape is far from it. Along with the ability to be a very good route runner and a hands catcher, he has elite toughness. He is fearless when attacking the football and, more importantly, is very hard to bring down. He invites contact, actually seeks it out, and when he gets it, he wins the fight.
After watching his tape for just a couple of days, I can confidently say that he will become a crowd favorite in Columbus.
The comparison that I see with Parker is actually Brandon Inniss. These two from both slot positions, with Jeremiah Smith outside and maybe even Chris Henry Jr. also on the outside, will present some pretty significant problems for a defense.
There isn't much room for error for Parker, along with Inniss and UTSA transfer portal addition, Devin McCuin. The standard in Ohio State's wide receiver room is to be elite. Period, end of story.
Dating back over the last decade, Ohio State's wide receivers have been the best in the country, bar none. Now, they are absolutely in a transition period with the loss of Brian Hartline, who many have credited for this era of Buckeyes wide receiver play.
Now, it is up to the new additions to play up to the proper level under Jeremiah Smith.
The competition in the wide receiver room, as those three guys battle for spots two, three, and four on the depth chart, will be a must-watch show next year. They will be competing for limited positions at the same time that Ohio State is trying to redefine its identity on offense.
What they were last year wasn't good enough. Their old school slow pace came back to bite them in the Cotton Bowl, and it cost them the game. Their weird commitment to the tight end cost them the Indiana game. Both of their losses showed their lack of identity, and it must be fixed.
Getting elite wide receiver play will go a long way to solving that issue.