Ohio State Buckeyes WR Primed for Major 2025 Breakout

An Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver looks ready to break out during the 2025 season.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Brandon Inniss (11) lines up for a kickoff during the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. Michigan won 13-10. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost a lot of talent from their 2024 roster to the 2025 NFL Draft. With a lot of players leaving will come a lot of opportunity for players to step up in 2025.

At the wide receiver position, Ohio State is losing Emeka Egbuka. Both Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will be back, giving the Buckeyes their top two options. However, who is going to step up into the No. 3 role that was ever so important with Tate en route to a national championship?

Brandon Inniss appears to be likely to be the guy to step into that role.

During the 2024 college football season for Ohio State, Inniss played a small role. He ended up catching 14 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. As a freshman in 2023, he caught one pass for 58 yards and a score.

From year one to year two, Inniss showed off quite a bit of improvement. He is a hard worker and is going to do everything in his power to become an integral piece of the Buckeyes' offense.

Not only should fans expect him to win the No. 3 wide receiver role, they should expect him to succeed in it.

Inniss is an extremely good route runer. He may not be as athletic or the kind of dynamic playmaker that Jeremiah Smith is, but he's more than capable of finding separation and getting open.

As of right now, Julian Sayin is widely expected to be the starting quarterback for Ohio State. In addition to Smith and Tate, Sayin will need a security blanket No. 3 wide receiver who can take advantage of any mismatch that he sees throughout the course of a game.

That is where Inniss will exceed. His ability to run elite routes will give Sayin an open target to throw to at any moment, just like Tate was throughout the 2024 season for Will Howard.

If there was one player who could be called an X-Factor this season, it would be Innis.

In order for the Buckeyes' offense to find the same success in 2025 that it had in 2024, they will need to have an elite No. 3 receiver. Inniss should be able to slide in and fill that role without skipping a beat. Fans should expect a big season incoming from him.

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