Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown wasn’t a household name after a relatively quiet freshman season in 2014, but that was expected to change after the 6’2″, 222-pound pass-catcher broke out during spring and fall camp.
“Noah Brown has had probably as good of a spring as I could’ve wanted,” receivers coach Zach Smith said last April, according to Bill Landis of Northeast Ohio Media Group. “He’s dropped 25 pounds. He’s at a different level than he was in the fall. He’s come a long way and still has a lot to do, but he looks like a guy who’s going to contribute in the fall.”
Everything was lining up for Brown to make a big impact in Ohio State’s explosive offense, but that fell apart on Wednesday when the promising wideout fractured his leg in practice—an injury that will sideline him for the entire 2015 season.
It wasn’t just a tough blow for the emerging sophomore, about whom coaches and teammates have consistently raved all offseason. It’s also a big loss for the Buckeyes as a whole, and they’ll feel that loss the moment they kick off the season on the road against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies, of course, were the only team to beat the Buckeyes during their championship run in 2014. Head coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster devised a scheme that put a ton of pressure on the Buckeyes receivers—a scheme that worked to perfection as the Hokies stymied Ohio State in a 35-21 victory.
Collectively, the Buckeyes hauled in…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: How Noah Brown’s Injury Impacts Buckeyes Offense
