Buckeyes Now

Ohio State's Joe Royer, Kamryn Babb Standing Out During Spring Practice

Royer and Babb have just one career reception between them, but more importantly caught the eye of quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Andrew Lind

While he and junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba get all of the headlines when it comes to Ohio State’s passing attack, redshirt sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud has been impressed with two players in particular this spring.

“I want to keep it a secret, but I’ll give you two (breakout players),” Stroud said during his media availability on Wednesday. “I’m going to go with Joe Royer – that dude, he’s looking really good – and then Kam(ryn) Babb. He looks amazing. I’m so excited for him.”

A former three-star prospect from Cincinnati Elder, Royer has caught just one pass for nine yards in his two years with the program. But with the Buckeyes needing to replace the departed Jeremy Ruckert, the 6-foot-5 and 245-pounder is now in line for a much larger role during his redshirt sophomore season.

“It's not easy to come in as a young guy as a tight end," Ruckert said at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine. “Everybody goes through their struggles. I had my struggles, but the way he's stayed true to the process and continued to grow and bought into it, I think that's important for him.

“You obviously see him in practice making those special plays and you know he's got it in him just to keep continuing to trust himself and trust why he's there. He's there for a reason. Just has to be himself and be confident in that."

Royer’s athleticism and connection with Stroud was on display in a short highlight film Ohio State released midway through spring practice, as he hauled in a one-handed pass over Arizona State transfer linebacker DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum just 12 seconds in.

Babb, meanwhile, could be one of the better stories in college football if he’s able to overcome his long history of injuries and make an impact during his fifth-year senior season. He suffered another minor injury last week that will sideline him for a couple weeks, but he’s well on his way to having a role this fall.

“He had a little bump in the road that we were a little worried about, but it didn’t come back as a big deal, so that was great,” head coach Ryan Day said. “I thought, up until that practice, he had been really practicing at a high level and really had a chance to have an impact on this offense, and I think he will.”

Of course, playing time might be harder to come by for Babb than Royer, with Smith-Njigba, junior Julian Fleming and sophomores Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. also in the loaded wide receivers room. But if he continues on his current path, you can guarantee he’ll get his first career catch – and more – this season.

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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