40 best Ohio State football players this century, ranked
By Nick Villano
Best Ohio State football players this century 29. Garrett Wilson – Wide Receiver 2019-21
Garrett Wilson is a player who’s been contributing for the Ohio State Buckeyes for three seasons, but he had a real breakout with freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud this past season. Wilson broke 1,000 yards receiving this past year while scoring 12 touchdowns. Prior to that, he had a pretty successful start to his Buckeyes career. He was a heralded recruit that looked the part right away. He had 432 yards as a freshman, including 118 yards on just three catches against Michigan. He had that big-play making down.
Wilson’s second season involved a position switch and a very shortened schedule. He moved to the slot, and he excelled in the Buckeyes eight games. He had 732 yards on the season, including over 100 yards in the first four games of the season. For his contributions, he earned second-team All-American honors.
The Buckeyes offense was rolling this past season. They did it on the wide receiver trio of Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Those three were absolutely unstoppable. That’s how the Buckeyes were able to keep a freshman quarterback in the right place at the right time. They always had someone open.
Wilson had some big games in big games. While Ohio State did not live up to the expectations in 2021, Wilson sure did. He had 10 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown against Michigan. His double move was disgusting, and it worked just about every time. He’s headed to the NFL now, and his lack of a championship win likely keeps him from moving much higher on this list.