Watch list season has hit Columbus hard this summer, and it struck again on Thursday morning, as wide receiver tandem Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson were included on the Biletnikoff Award watch list. The award is given to the nation’s top receiver each season and will be announced on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 9, 2021.
Alabama’s Devonta Smith claimed the crown last season, alongside the coveted Heisman Trophy nod.
This is just one more honor to add to two rapidly growing lists for the Buckeye receivers. Olave has already been named to the Maxwell Award watch list, the Big Ten Preseason Honors list and was selected as a first-team preseason All-American by Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Phil Steele and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Wilson, meanwhile, has made an appearance on the same three lists, and was picked as a first-team All-American by Athlon Sports and a second-teamer by The Sporting News and Phil Steele.
Olave caught a career-high 50 passes for 729 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2020, while Wilson added 43 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns. Olave is approaching new heights on the Ohio State receiving leaderboards this season, as he enters the year with 111 career receptions, 1,775 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns. Wilson trails slightly at 73 career receptions for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he has just the two seasons under his belt.
