It is one factor to be on Ohio State soccer’s roster, and it is one other to get constant enjoying time for the elite program. Redshirt junior wideout Jayden Ballard had bother with the latter half, which is why he may play for a Buckeye rival subsequent yr.
Ballard is visiting Wisconsin over the weekend, through 247 Sports activities’ Matt Zenitz.
Ballard spent 4 seasons at Ohio State however by no means turned a constant contributor. The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder completed his Buckeye tenure with simply 11 catches for 177 yards and a landing, and most of that manufacturing got here in opposition to Toledo on September seventeenth, 2022.
Ballard was one-third of a highly-touted freshman receiver class recruited by Ohio State offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline. The opposite two had been Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr., the latter of whom is now among the best rookies within the NFL. All three had been top-100 recruits, with Ballard ranked 99th general and fourth out of the state of Ohio, through the 247Sports composite.
Whereas Egbuka is getting into the 2025 NFL Draft, Ballard nonetheless had no path to enjoying time subsequent season. Underclassmen like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate performed vital roles this yr and are forward of him on the depth chart, so it makes extra sense for him to spend his final yr of eligibility with a faculty that’ll give him the reps he wants.
Ohio State soccer will likely be wonderful at vast receiver
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It will be a tricky blow for a lesser program to lose somebody like Ballard, who’s identified for his velocity and talent to stretch the sector. Nonetheless, moreover the Buckeyes’ incumbent receivers, in addition they have loads of incoming high-school expertise on the place, through On3. Quincy Porter, Bodpegn Miller, Phillip Bell, and De’zie Jones, all of whom are four-star recruits, have signed their Letters of Intent. That is to not point out whoever head coach Ryan Day and firm land within the switch portal too.