Day likes OSU's depth at receiver

COLUMBUS – Most assessments of Ohio State's receivers this football season seem to focus on the possibility the Buckeyes might not have many wing men for Jeremiah Smith now that Carnell Tate became a first-round draft choice of the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Day apparently sees it a little differently. During a press conference Monday, OSU's coach said, "Our depth at wide receiver is way better than it was last year in my opinion. There are a lot of guys you'll see play this year." Day identified six receivers – veterans Smith, Brandon Inniss, Devin McCuin and Kyle Parker, and freshmen Chris Henry Jr, and Brock Boyd – as OSU's top receivers heading into the season. Smith led Ohio State with 87 catches last season and Inniss had 36 receptions. McCuin hauled in 65 passes at the University of Texas-San Antonio and Parker caught 31 of them at LSU. Henry, a 5-star recruit, is regarded as the next great OSU receiver but Boyd, a 3-star recruit, was one of the standouts in spring practice and has continued to make a good impression in preseason practices. "I think he's going to play. How much is going to be determined. But he will play," Day said about Boyd. "He is somebody who has had a real good camp. He has practiced every day. Julian (Sayin) is comfortable throwing him the ball. He's smart. He knows how to run routes. He can play multiple positions." Some other thoughts from Day: … Ohio State will have seven captains this season – wide receiver Brandon Inniss, defensive end Kenyatta Jackson, safety Jaylen McClain, offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, linebacker Payton Pierce and quarterback Julian Sayin. Why seven captains? "Every year you look at it and try to decide what the right number is. I thought this was a great representation of who our team voted for. There is representation from almost every group," Day said. "If there were just four guys and there was a huge gap in the voting we probably just would have named them. But it was fairly close in the voting. Every year you try to find the guys to represent your team and these guys have done a great job of that." … Day got close to confirming what the offensive line's starting lineup will be but did not announce his plans. OSU has four returning starters on its offensive line. Luke Montgomery played left guard last season and is locked in as the starter at his position again, as is center Carson Hinzman. Siereveld is a returning starter who might change positions from left tackle to right guard. Phillip Daniels probably will return at right tackle. Discussing moving Siereveld and putting junior Ian Moore in the lineup became a strong possibility when Moore practiced well during spring practice. "We think Austin has proved he can play guard. He's probably an NFL guard who can also play tackle. They will continue to work together this week and we will see how that plays out. We will keep evaluating but I think that (moving Siereveld) has momentum right now," Day said. … Day has not named a back-up quarterback. Tavien St. Clair and freshman Luke Fahey are competing for that position. "Both have had bright spots for sure," Day said.