Chris Olave came to Ohio State as an under-recruited prospect out of San Marcos, California. He has turned into a Buckeye star with a bright future. And that star will only get brighter in 2021
Olave announced on Monday night that he will return to Ohio State for his senior year. He made the announcement on social media.
Ranked as the 68th best receiver and just inside the top 400 prospects in the 2018 recruiting class, Olave was something of a diamond in the rough for Ohio State. After transferring to Mission Hills High School after his sophomore year, Olave had to sit out his junior season and missed out on a lot of the film that earns recruits offers. Then-Buckeye offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day saw Olave for the first time while on a recruiting visit to see four-star quarterback prospect Jack Tuttle. Olave was asked to be a receiver as Tuttle threw for the Buckeye coach.
Day liked what he saw from Olave and offered the receiver in October of 2017. Other top offers shortly followed, but Olave picked the Scarlet and Gray. And Ohio State fans are sure glad he did.
Despite a wide receiver room that already featured the likes of Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Johnnie Dixon, Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor, Olave was able to make an impact as a freshman. After catching two total passes in blowout wins early in the year, Olave stepped in when Mack got hurt and finished the season with 12 receptions for 197 yards and three touchdowns, including two catches for two touchdowns against rivals Michigan and a five-reception, 79-yard, one-score performance in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The end of his freshman year set up Olave for a successful sophomore season. Featured more regularly in the Buckeye offense as a starter, Olave quickly developed chemistry with quarterback Justin Fields. The receiver managed at least two catches in every game, finishing the year with 49 receptions for a team-best 849 yards and 12 touchdowns. After the season, Olave was named third-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media.
Heading into 2020, Olave was on the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award. But like many players on the Ohio State roster, the receiver was impacted by the Big Ten’s shortened season and the Buckeyes only playing five games in the regular season. Olave still put up impressive numbers, recording 50 catches for 729 cards and nine touchdowns in just seven games as the Scarlet and Gray won a fourth straight Big Ten championship and played in the 2021 College Football Playoff national championship game.
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Olave’s return will give Ohio State a loaded receiver room for whichever quarterback is named the starter after Justin Fields announced he is headed to the NFL Draft earlier in the day on Monday.
