Brandon Inniss becoming young leader of Buckeyes receiver room

COLUMBUS — Ohio State wide receiver Brandon Inniss didn’t play a single offensive snap in his first taste of the rivalry game at Michigan last year. But truth be told, he didn’t need to play to get a feeling of what he had to do this offseason.

“After the Team Up North game last year, just watching the film, I was disgusted,” Inniss said. “Just the whole game, not really certain plays, but it was just, I feel like I could do a lot when I get on the field and I have to bring more intensity to how we’re playing and stuff like that.”

So Inniss used the 30-24 loss to Michigan in the Big House last November as motivation to grow as a player — and more importantly, as a leader for his second campaign at Ohio State.

Yes, Inniss has only been in the program for 14 months; he enrolled last summer instead of in the spring. But he didn’t let that hold him back from earning a spot on the leadership committee this offseason and begin forming his voice as the young leader of this Buckeyes offense.

“That’s when I knew instantly I had to be a leader next year,” Inniss told Lettermen Row following his main media session. “I didn’t know all these seniors are going to come back at that time, but even though they came back, I still feel like I had to be a leader. We have [senior receiver Emeka Egbuka] in the receiver room, but I just felt like I had to be another guy on offense and the whole team that just had to be a leader.”

Inniss mentioned that he has always been a leader on teams throughout his life, but the Michigan loss seems to have calloused him. The second-year receiver from American Heritage High School down in South Florida and one-time Oklahoma commit is now becoming a vocal leader for the Buckeyes.

How does that happen? Well, he proved he wanted to work hard as a freshman to earn a role despite showing up in the summer. And he did. Inniss played offense in five games and special teams only in six others in his first season on the roster. He had one catch for 57 yards and a touchdown last fall as he started proving himself in a real capacity.

Teammates noticed.

“You can see how people think of him on this team, they think highly of him,” Egbuka said. “He comes in every day, he has a very fiery, competitive nature. And he puts in really hard work, days in and days out.

“Even though he hasn’t seen the field much yet, we have no concern that when he does step on the field, he’ll have a great impact.”

After an incredible winter of workouts, Inniss entered his first spring with the Buckeyes as a breakout candidate and a potential featured piece of the offense. And he was just that — until he wasn’t. A foot injury sidelined him for the final two weeks of spring ball and the spring game.

That didn’t stop Inniss from asserting himself in the locker room and, eventually, in the weight room once he returned to action.

“He missed a lot of spring, but I would say the way he carried himself and the way he was a leader,” Ohio State wide receiver coach Brian Hartline said. “And then I would say once he was back, Coach Mick does a lot of things to grade guys and give feedback and hold guys accountable. So he was a guy that impressed his teammates through the summer. He was a guy that was all gold. He was a guy that the leaders wanted to vote him onto the leadership council. So he earned all that without even playing football.

“So how do you stand out? It was everything of the non-talent issues, everything off the field, he stood out in. He’s got to continue bringing that day in and day out. But that was probably what he did through the summer to get back on track and stay on track.”

Inniss appears to have found a lane this offseason, especially in the early stages of training camp. Last month at Big Ten Media Days, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day mentioned that ‘you can feel’ Inniss when he’s on the field.

The sophomore pass-catcher has proved that time and time again through the first two weeks of camp, flashing every time the media is allowed to watch Buckeyes practice.

“I just want to bring a lot of energy to the team, and I felt like coming out for last year, we needed more energy as a whole unit. And I feel like I could be one of the high-energy guys that just drives the offense and drives the team to be great.

“… They know what I can bring to the table. They see how hard I work. They all know what I did in high school and stuff like this. I just want to prove to them I can do the same thing on this level. And they see me making plays out there, and once you’re make the plays, then they start to listen. Because they’re like, ‘oh, I want to do what he’s doing because he’s making plays.’”

Inniss told himself after the loss to Michigan that he would put himself in this position. Now he’s here, and he’s showing that he can be a force in the passing game — and a leader in the locker room.

So what, he’s young? That won’t stop him from asserting himself as a voice for the receiver room. A tone-setter. Somebody who doesn’t want to feel that level of disgust this November like he did last November.

He saw what the Ohio State wide receiver room was missing — and addressed it.

“The chippiness, the edge to the receiver room, I feel like that’s what we needed,” he said, “and we didn’t have a lot of that last year.”

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