Ohio State Football: Buckeyes Need Better Play from Wide Receivers

Ohio State has a lot of issues on offense.

There's the subpar play of the quarterbacks. Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett have taken turns underwhelming, combining to throw for just 527 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 56.8 percent of their passes.

There's the uncharacteristic sloppiness of the offensive line. Four starters returned from the unit that was absolutely dominant down the stretch of the 2014 season, but they look like shells of themselves, being pushed around by undersized defensive fronts.

And then there's Ezekiel Elliott, who entered the season as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. The bruising and blazing running back is averaging just 4.2 yards per carry since taking his first run of the season 80 yards to the house.

But the biggest issue with Ohio State's offense right now is the poor play of its wide receivers.

“They have not performed well,” Urban Meyer said of his wide receivers, according to Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors. “Mike Thomas has played pretty well, but we’ve gotta play much better. There’s going to be a high, high emphasis on that this week.”

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Outside of the H-back position, Thomas was the only returning starter to a wide receiver corps that's brimming with talent but short on experience. The talented redshirt junior leads the team with 158 receiving yards and two touchdowns, but the Buckeyes need more from him and the other wideouts.

So far, it's clear that Ohio State is desperately missing a pair of receivers who graduated a season ago.

Devin Smith evolved into the best deep threat in the country over his career, and during his senior season last year, he led the country in average yards per reception. He was at his best with Jones behind center because the big-armed quarterback could effortlessly get the ball down the field and over defenses.

The Buckeyes offense has struggled getting behind defenses without Smith on the perimeter. Braxton Miller broke free for a 54-yard touchdown reception in Week 1 against Virginia Tech, but that's been the longest reception by a 25-yard margin through three weeks in action.

Evan Spencer made an impact that went beyond the box score. He put up modest numbers during Ohio State's championship run last year, hauling in just 15 receptions for 149 yards, but his perimeter blocking was a key part to Ohio State's dominant run game.

In fact, Spencer was the one who sprung the most important run of the season:

“You look at those big hits last year, [Elliott] was barely touched on the famous 85-yard run against Alabama because [Spencer] did a phenomenal job and the offensive line got to the second level,” Meyer said, via Shoemaker.

The Buckeyes had a bulldog of a blocker at wide receiver in Noah Brown, but the rising sophomore was lost for the season after he fractured his leg in fall camp. His absence has been felt in a big way because he was the wideout who was expected to set the tone on the perimeter.

Without Smith, no wideout has been able to consistently burn a defense deep. Without Spencer, the running backs haven't been able to break through the second level.

If the Buckeyes receivers fail to do that, the offense will continue to struggle.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.