For most college football players, their freshman season is a constant battle to gain footing on a merry-go-round made of quicksand and confusion.
Each step is a learning process, but eventually the quicksand solidifies and the merry-go-round slows down.
For Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Chris Olave, he found his footing relatively quickly upon arriving at OSU last year. His teammates talked him up during fall camp a year ago, but his first regular playing time didn’t come until the Buckeyes lost receiver Austin Mack to an injury eight games into the season.
Olave didn’t respond right away, going catch-less in his first action against Nebraska. One week later, he had two catches against Michigan State, then followed that up with one catch for 10 yards against Maryland in overtime.
It was the week after in the Michigan game where he broke out with two touchdown catches and a blocked punt.
Even though he showed the potential right away last year in camp, Ryan Day and the offensive coaching staff were worried that he wasn’t quite ready for the physical side of things
“He was 165 I think when he got here, maybe even less,” Day said. “And so we were just worried about him holding up. When you look at the size of Terry and Paris, how big they were compared to Chris when he first got in here, we realize he had a lot of work to do physically.
“But he’s strong. He’s not real thick but he is really strong. He came in, pretty sure he bench-pressed 225 like seven times when he got here, like 165, which is unique. So he has power, and then he put on the weight and got stronger and it changed his body. Now we think he’s an every-down receiver.”
Not only has Olave progressed to being an every-down receiver, but he looks like a big-play receiver who the Buckeyes can call upon at any time this season.
“He does. He does,” Day said. “Right from the jump, you can see his ball skills, the way he can track a ball down the field was off the charts.”
Although to expect Olave to only make big plays on offense would probably be a mistake. He was part of the punt block unit last year, and was successful getting home against the Wolverines. He is also being looked at to replace the departed Terry McLaurin as the team’s top gunner on punt coverage.
In other words, it won’t just be on offense where you’ll hear Olave’s name this season.
“I’m expecting to make an impact on offense and more on special teams,” he said. “Try to block punts, be a gunner, play on kickoff, play kickoff return and just do what my teammates expect of me.”
Olave provided a taste of what he can do last season, but now he’s ready to deliver the entire menu.
“I’m very determined to make an impact for this team,” he said. “This whole offseason I’ve been trying to get my weight up. So I’m up to 185 now, after playing at 170 last year. Got a little faster, got bigger and stronger. So I can’t wait to make an impact this year.”
After scoring twice against Michigan and blocking a punt as a true freshman, and then scoring once more in the Big Ten Championship Game, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Chris Olave came away feeling pretty good about himself.
Instead, it has only fueled him to want to do more in his second season.
“That doesn’t really change me,” he said of his success against Michigan. “It kind of humbles me more. Just to know that people are expecting more from me this year and the coaches, the players are expecting more from me, so I just gotta do what I do and try to make an impact for my team.”