Ohio State is kicking off its 2026 season against Ball State with a hole at receiver that wasn't supposed to be there. Kyle Parker, the LSU transfer the Buckeyes landed in the offseason to add SEC-tested depth behind Jeremiah Smith, is expected to be out for the opener, per On3's Pete Nakos.
Ohio State is expected to be without WR Kyle Parker today against Ball State, sources tell @SpencerHolbrook and me for @On3. The LSU transfer missed most of fall camp with an undisclosed injury. Injury Report: t.co/soYFY1E2S6
This isn't a new story so much as it's the payoff of one that's been quietly building since August. Parker reportedly left the first day of fall camp banged up and never really got it back, missing most of camp with an injury that was never disclosed publicly. He stayed around the periphery, doing individual receiver drills in pads, but he wasn't part of team reps — which in a fall camp built entirely around live competition is close to a death sentence for your spot on the depth chart.
And that's exactly what happened. While Parker was on the side, Devin McCuin took the reps and emerged as the clear frontrunner for the No. 2 receiver job behind Smith. Camp battles get decided in exactly this way — not by who's more talented on paper, but by who's actually on the field every day when the coaches are handing out reps. Parker lost weeks he can't get back, and now he's not even in the mix for game one.
It stings a little more given what Ohio State thought it was getting. Parker spent 3 seasons at LSU, gradually working from a buried freshman into a real contributor — in 2025 alone he played in all 13 games, started 5, and caught 31 passes for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's a proven college receiver with SEC snaps, exactly the kind of insurance policy a national title contender wants behind a Heisman-caliber QB in Julian Sayin and a bona fide star in Smith.
For now, it's a Ball State problem and not much else — the Buckeyes aren't hurting for firepower against a MAC opponent to open the year. But it's worth watching how this plays out over the next month. If Parker gets healthy and pushes back into the rotation, his LSU experience could matter a lot more in November against real competition than it does in September against Ball State.