Ex-Ohio State football receiver set for big Wisconsin move
12/14/2024 02:00 PM
It’s one thing to be on Ohio State football’s roster, and it’s another to get consistent playing time for the elite program. Redshirt junior wideout Jayden Ballard had trouble with the latter part, which is why he might play for a Buckeye rival next year.
Ballard is visiting Wisconsin over the weekend, via 247 Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Ballard spent four seasons at Ohio State but never became a consistent contributor. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder finished his Buckeye tenure with just 11 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown, and most of that production came against Toledo on September 17th, 2022.
Ballard was one-third of a highly-touted freshman receiver class recruited by Ohio State offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline. The other two were Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., the latter of whom is now one of the best rookies in the NFL. All three were top-100 recruits, with Ballard ranked 99th overall and fourth out of the state of Ohio, via the 247Sports composite.
While Egbuka is entering the 2025 NFL Draft, Ballard still had no path to playing time next season. Underclassmen like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate played significant roles this year and are ahead of him on the depth chart, so it makes more sense for him to spend his last year of eligibility with a school that’ll give him the reps he needs.
Ohio State football will be fine at wide receiver
It would be a tough blow for a lesser program to lose someone like Ballard, who’s known for his speed and ability to stretch the field. However, besides the Buckeyes’ incumbent receivers, they also have plenty of incoming high-school talent at the position, via On3. Quincy Porter, Bodpegn Miller, Phillip Bell, and De’zie Jones, all of whom are four-star recruits, have signed their Letters of Intent. That’s not to mention whoever head coach Ryan Day and company land in the transfer portal too.
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