After the graduation of Chase Cochran, Sebastian Smith is one of several players looking to step up in 2015.
The question of who will be throwing the football for Ohio during the 2015 season is one that has enveloped the Bobcats since last fall camp.
But, there is another question about the offense: Once the coaching staff figures out who is throwing the football, who is going to catch it?
It isn’t as well-publicized as the quarterback controversy, but it is probably a situation of equal importance.
The Bobcats finished 11th out of 13 MAC teams in passing yards in 2014, and just 10th in pass efficiency.
It wasn’t surprising Ohio did not finish with a single player inside the conference’s top-10 in receptions nor receiving yards. In fact, the Bobcats’ most prolific receiver, Chase Cochran, finished just 29th in the MAC in receiving yards, while Sebastian Smith, who led the Bobcats with 31 catches, finished 30th in the conference in that area.
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The subsequent months leading up to Ohio’s season opener against Idaho haven’t been any kinder. Cochran and Landon Smith (24 catches, 213 yards in 2014) have graduated, while starting tight end Troy Mangen has been declared out for the season after injuring his knee in summer camp.
That’s enough bad news to reasonably deter anyone’s optimism, but ninth-year wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon has remained resilient in the faith he has in his playmakers.
“We’re a work in progress,” Dixon said. “They all wanna be the guy who gets the ball, and there’s only one ball. When we look at tape, we want to look to see if guys are working to get better, and not just resting on what they did last year. And our players know that.”
While Ohio does lack star power at the wide receiver position, the open rotation they instilled last year has given experience to several players. Standing out among those names are Smith, now a junior, along with redshirt junior Jordan Reid. Smith’s 31 catches netted him 385 yards in 2014, while Jordan Reid hauled in 24 passes for 326 yards. Brendan Cope (17.8 yards per catch on 17 receptions in 2014), one of Ohio’s best playmakers on offense, returns for his redshirt sophomore season.
Dixon emphasized the idea of bringing in new faces to challenge veterans for spots, something underclassmen have taken a liking to.
Freshmen Elijah Ball and Kyle Belack have both impressed coaches just ahead of the Bobcats’ season opener, while redshirt sophomore Jerrid Marhefka has inserted himself into the mix with a strong month of practice.
Smith believes the experience of the receiving corps will add an extra layer to an offense that will need to spend the season’s first few weeks trying to prove its ability to score points.
“Last year, we were young,” Smith said. “Everybody knows how this program works now and all the plays and packages, so I feel like our experience is really going to help us this year.”
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