Former Ohio State Wide Receiver Chris Olave Discusses Draft Preparation, Rose Bowl Opt-Out And More At NFL Scouting Combine

“Growing up watching the combine, it was always a dream of mine to come here."

Former Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave met with the media at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine to discuss a wide variety of topics, including his preparation for the 2022 NFL Draft, his relationship with former teammates and potential first-round draft picks Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams, his decision to opt out of the Rose Bowl and more.

Here’s a bullet-point recap of what Olave had to say:

• “Growing up watching the combine, it was always a dream of mine to come here. To finally be able to be here is definitely a blessing and I can’t put it into words.”

• On going through the combine with Wilson and Williams: “Just being able to be around them this week and compete with them, it’s going to be fun.”

• “When you go to a place like Ohio State, you compete with the best every day, you play with the best every day, so just going against the best every day and competing with myself in the weight room, on the field and even in the classroom, I feel like I’ve been prepared for this for a couple years.”

• Olave on his route-running skills: “I developed that going into my freshman year. My first year playing receiver in high school was my senior year, so just playing for the best receiver coach in the country in Coach (Brian) Hartline, getting developed by him and seeing a lot of older guys like Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Johnny Dixon and C.J. Saunders in front of me, I kind of learned from them, took some stuff from their game and tried to put it into mine.”

• On competition with Wilson: “There’s no competition between us. We’re both happy for each other. He’s a talent and one of those natural freaks and I can’t wait to see him perform and see the crazy numbers he’s going to put up.”

• Olave said his oldest brother is a Las Vegas Raiders fans. “I’d love to go there. They moved to Las Vegas recently and they have a great organization. I’d love to go there and play for them.”

• Olave doesn’t feel like he has anything to prove. “I just want to prove it to myself. Like I said, I’ve been training for this for so long and to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is a huge blessing.”

• On former teammate and current Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields: “Justin’s a great player, a great dude and I can’t wait to see his career take off.”

• On the potential for them to play together again in the NFL: “Having him in college as my quarterback, I know what he can do on and off the field. I know how hard he works, so I feel like we’re very similar in ways and I feel like we could complement each other if we do end up on the same team.”

• Olave on how he thinks the combine could improve his stock: “Just people seeing how I run routes in person and see how fast I can run. I feel like we see it on film, but just to be able to showcase that in front of all the scouts and in front of all the teams. I feel like that’s going to be huge for me this week.”

• On decision to practice with the team despite opting out of the Rose Bowl: “I was always a team-first guy, so even if Im not playing, I always wanted to be there with my team. I was voted captain this year by my teammates, so just to be there and support my guys and be there practicing with them throughout the Rose Bowl week, that was a no-brainer for me.” Added he was tempted to play once the game rolled around.

• Olave called McLaurin one of his favorite teammates. “He took me under his wing right away. He was like a big brother to me at Ohio State my freshman year and even til now, we still keep in touch.”

• On potential to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns, who he met with on Monday: “Just to stay in the state of Ohio, I know the fanbase is crazy. One of the best fan bases, and I definitely would love that and enjoy that.”

• Olave discussed how playing with Wilson and rising junior Jaxon Smith-Njigba taught him patience as a receiver. “When you go to a place like Ohio State, you’re going to have a lot talent around you and there’s only one ball to get around. At the end of the day, as long as we’re winning, we’re all selfless in that receiver room.”

• Olave said he studied NFL players like McLaurin, Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs and DeSean Jackson while in college.

• Olave believes rising sophomore Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to have a huge year for Ohio State in 2022. “He’s one of those natural talents. His work ethic is off the charts.” Also mentioned Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Jayden Ballard. “I can’t wait to see (Ballard) take off.”

• Olave said he also met the New England Patriots on Monday. “It was a good meeting. They asked me a lot about my background and just kind of deeper questions … I respect the organization, their coaching and what they’ve got going on there.”

• On his decision to return for his senior season: “Most importantly, I got my degree ... I feel like I got a lot better at the weaknesses I wanted to improve on and turned those things into strengths.”

• Olave on Smith-Njigba: “He’s just a special and rare talent.”

• On the opportunity to end Ohio State’s 15-year drought without a first-round pick at wide receiver: “I feel like that streak is going to come to an end soon. Just to be in that conversation in the first round, coming from where I come from and as such a low-recruited guy.”

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