COLUMBUS – Parris Campbell is gaining attention for his knack at finding the crack on a kickoff return.
No. 11/10 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0) at Rutgers (1-3, 0-1), High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.; Saturday (7:30 p.m./BTN)
The fourth-year junior, a hybrid back for Ohio State’s offense, leads the nation after four games with a kickoff return average of 45.6 yards on five tries.
“It’s really rewarding,” Campbell said Wednesday as OSU zeroed in on a game Saturday at Rutgers. “But it doesn’t come without the other 10 guys in front of me who do their job every single game.”
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Campbell has notched 40-plus yard kick returns in three consecutive games.
Campbell has taken his place as an integral part of the Buckeye offense as well, with 105 yards receiving on three catches in Saturday’s 54-21 win over UNLV, including a 69-yard catch and run for a score. It was his second 100-plus yard game this season.
Campbell’s 35 yards per catch was the highest single-game average since 1996.
Campbell and C.J. Saunders were the first teammates to record 100-yard receiving games in the same game since Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. did it in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame.