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Ohio State has the best returning wideouts in college football, says PFF

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Ohio State has the best wideout room in the country… again.

Pro Football Focus ranked the top returning wideouts in the country for the 2023 season, and it came as no surprise to see Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka sitting in the top two spots on the board. Ohio State’s receivers were also the only two receivers from the Big Ten inside PFF’s top 10.

PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote this about Harrison:

He may not have won the Biletnikoff Award, but Harrison was the best receiver in college football this past season. 

Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison’s son was both the highest-graded and most valuable wide receiver in the country in 2022, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Against single coverage, the sophomore’s 878 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns led all FBS wide receivers. 

And Chadwick wrote this about Egbuka:

It remains to be seen who will take over as Ohio State’s next quarterback after C.J. Stroud, but whoever it is will be throwing to the two best receivers in the nation.

Outside of Marvin Harrison Jr., Egbuka was the most valuable Power Five wide receiver last year, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Only Harrison tallied more receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last year than Egbuka among returning Power Five receivers. Egbuka’s 2.98 yards per route run ranked third in that same group, as well.

The Buckeyes’ two youngsters both ended the season in the top 10 nationally for receiving yardage. Harrison went for 1,263 yards and 14 scores while Egbuka recorded 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both averaged north of 15.5 yards per catch.

And neither are draft eligible yet. Both are entering just their third season in college — classmates in the Buckeyes’ second-ranked recruiting class during the 2021 cycle.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.