Jayden Ballard ‘took a step’ late in spring, can add to Buckeyes receiver depth

COLUMBUS — Jayden Ballard didn’t do anything spectacular in the Ohio State spring game. He had two catches for 7 yards.

But the Buckeyes aren’t going to use the spring game as the only data point for Ballard’s fourth-year push for playing time. Ballard made a big step forward this spring — especially in the final two weeks as the calendar flipped to April.

That’s a good sign for the veteran receiver who has been working to find a role in the Buckeyes offense for years. Could this season be when Ballard finally breaks through?

“I think Jayden took a step this last week,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Saturday after the spring game. “We’ve been challenging him. There’s been a couple of plays — one in particular. He needed to make some plays to say, ‘OK, I’m here and you can count on me.’ There was a really contested play in the red zone that he made, he made a big play on a post out here the other day.

“You’re starting to see him make those plays.”

Ballard has always had the speed to take the top off any defense the Buckeyes might face. He’s a deep threat by trade. But Brian Hartline and Ohio State ask their receivers to do so much more than run fast and go long.

And the wide receiver room is loaded at the top of the depth chart with talented players who can do everything. Emeka Egbuka, a fellow senior, leads the room as a former 1,000-yard receiver and potential first-round pick. Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith have emerged as potential top targets, as well. And Brandon Inniss is expected to become a contributor for the Buckeyes — when he returns from injury. Don’t count out second-year receiver Bryson Rodgers, either. He popped this spring. Two freshmen — Damarion Witten and Mylan Graham — will arrive this summer.

Ohio State has one of the most talented receiver rooms in the country. Is it deep enough, though? Lettermen Row asked Day about that Saturday after the spring game.

“When you have Emeka and Carnell, and then Jayden Ballard, Jeremiah, then you get into Bryson Rodgers, who has done some good things this spring — I know he had a couple of tough plays today — but we think he could really help us next year,” Day said. “We’re missing Brandon Inniss. Brandon Inniss, same thing. He was having a lot of momentum but then there was a procedure. We just felt like out of caution, we had to get it done. We just didn’t want it to linger, but we’ll need him to step up in a big way.

“We’re going to need a couple more guys to step up, to build that depth there because we do have some really good players but we’re going to need them all. It’s important that some of those younger guys do step up.”

Jayden Ballard can be one of those Buckeyes receivers who can add depth and become a contributor. This feels different than when he was considered a potential playmaker in the middle of last spring, when the Buckeyes started seeing progress.

It also feels like a now-or-never moment for Ballard. Young receivers are beginning to flash. Other veterans are in line for a big year in a loaded offense.

But Ballard is ready for it. He’s showing that he can finally break out and become a true weapon at Ohio State after a successful spring.

“If he can do that for us, with his deep speed down down the field, he can really stretch the field,” Day said of Ballard. “We’re going to need him to. We did see things in the last couple of weeks that make us think he can.”

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