COLUMBUS — It took freshman Torrance Gibson all of one day in Ohio State’s overpopulated quarterbacks room to realize he would not be throwing footballs anytime soon.
So the coveted prospect asked coach Urban Meyer if he could do the next best thing: catch them.
“I told him I wanted to get on the field,” Gibson said. “I didn’t want to be a selfish guy, just sit on the bench for a whole year and just waste a year.”
Meyer agreed and, just like that, Gibson went from the deepest position on the top-ranked Buckeyes to the one most up for grabs.
A 6-foot-4, 205-pound burner rated by ESPN.com as the No. 2 athlete in his class, the Plantation, Fla., native is among Ohio State’s top options to fill the big-play receiver role left vacant by Devin Smith.
Gibson has spent the past week practicing with receivers, and Meyer said the returns are promising.
While Ohio State’s practices are closed to reporters, a school-released highlight video from a team scrimmage Saturday showed Gibson pulling in a Cardale Jones deep ball in stride down the sideline.
“Torrance is a guy — we still haven’t found our ‘Inside Nine’ guy — he’s the Devin Smith,” Meyer said. “He said, ‘I want to play.’ I said, ‘Well, here are your options: wildcat quarterback, we’ll see what your skill set is at receiver, catching the ball a little bit,’ and we put him back there returning kicks. He’s a very good athlete. He’s a kid that runs around pretty fast and is a really good guy. He’s a team-first guy, which I really appreciate.”
Continue Reading: OSU notbeook: Gibson tries WR
