A Look at the Buckeyes Receiving Corp for the 2009 Season

by Jeremy Jeffries
BlockONation Contributor



You are not going to hear names like Brian Robiskie, Brian Hartline, Teddy Ginn or Anthony Gonzalez.

For the first time in quite a few years the Ohio State Buckeyes will be starting the season without a proven star at wide receiver.

The Buckeyes have always had great receivers names like Carter, Glenn, Galloway, Boston, Jenkins, Germany, Gamble, Holmes, and the before mentioned Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez.

The 2009 Ohio State Buckeye receivers have not yet made a name for themselves. But, you can bet that at least one of them will be added to that list of great Buckeye receivers. Let's focus on the four players I think will see the most action.

The group will be led by senior Ray Small. Ray really hasn't had a chance to show what he is made of yet, He played behind a talented group of players in his first three seasons.

Ray caught 8 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown his freshman season. He did slightly better in his sophomore season catching 20 passes for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the midst of controversy regarding Small and coach Tressell in 2008, he was suspended and had a horrible season. He finished the year with only 18 receptions for 149 yards.

Sophomore DeVier Posey will battle Small for the number one receiver honors. Posey is a big, fast receiver from Cincinnati, Ohio. Posey caught 82 passes for 1,518 yards and 16 touchdowns for LaSalle High School in Cincinnati.

With the Buckeyes in 2008, Posey caught 11 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. He and quarterback Terrelle Pryor showed great chemistry at times.

Dane Sanzenbacher was ranked as the 13th best prospect overall in the state of Ohio coming out of high school. Dane was an outstanding high school football player. He caught 65 passes and 16 touchdowns as a junior and was named first team all-state and as a senior, Dane had 61 receptions for 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Dane was the ultimate big game player in high school. In seven career playoff games, he had 40 receptions for 842 yards and nine touchdowns. He also collected 40 solo tackles and eight interceptions. he helped Toledo Central Catholic win the 2005 State Championship with two touchdown receptions.

In his freshman season with the Buckeyes, Dane had 12 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Dane's TD came on his very first reception as a Buckeye. In his sophomore season, he caught 21 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown.

Junior Taurian Washington from St. Mary's High School in Orchard Lake, Michigan. This 6-2, 179 pound receiver was the No. 8 overall recruit in Michigan and the 23rd best receiver nationally.

Taurian caught 40 passes for 893 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior at St. Mary's High School. In his injury shortened senior season, he caught 30 passes for 500 yards and eight touchdowns.

As a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Taurian saw some action in 2007 catching 3 passes for 46 yards and one touchdown. In 2008, Washington seemed to disappear, catching not a single pass.

Taurian couldn't have started his junior season off with the Buckeyes any better.

In the Buckeyes spring game in front of a record crowd of 95,000+ this season, he showed why he was the eighth ranked player in the state of Michigan coming out of high school.

His routes were crisp and he displayed above average speed en route to four catches for 92 yards, one for a touchdown, in just a matter of five minutes.

Whether it is one of the four talented receiver's mentioned in this article or one of the other receivers on the Buckeye roster, perhaps: James Jackson, Jake Stoneburner, Lamaar Thomas or Duron Carte—One (or more) of these guy's will indeed be the next great receiver(s) in a long line of great receivers to hone their craft at "The" Ohio State University.

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