Ohio State wide receiver Kyle Parker sheds black stripe
COLUMBUS — The familiarity with Cortez Hankton from their time together at LSU already gave Kyle Parker a head start on his Ohio State career.
His work ethic has taken him even further, and that hard work is starting to pay off early in spring camp for the Buckeyes.
Kyle Parker is the first Ohio State transfer portal addition from this offseason to shed his black stripe, Hankton announced Saturday after the fifth day of spring ball.
The Texas native is already experienced from his time with the Tigers, working his way into the lineup for LSU in his third season with the program last year, finishing with 31 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore. He appeared in four games as a redshirt freshman for the Tigers the year before, grabbing a reception in three of them for a total of 55 yards and a touchdown before suffering a season-ending triceps injury.
But he still needed to officially become a part of the culture in Columbus, and the black stripe removal is proving that he’s doing the right things early in his time at Ohio State.
He’s part of a two-man transfer wide receiver class that also includes former UTSA wide receiver Devin McCuin. They’re the first two wide receivers the Buckeyes program has ever taken from the portal, and they’re already making an impact.
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“KP brings a mindset of physicality,” Hankton said. “Really tough with the football, high football IQ, very versatile.”
With that in mind, the Buckeyes are already ripping the black stripe off of Parker’s helmet. He’s the first player to lose his black stripe this spring at Ohio State.
Mid-spring national title odds for Ohio State
A few weeks into spring practice, the national championship odds from the folks at BetMGM have been updated to reflect current trends.
To no surprise, Ohio State is still the favorite to win it all next season — despite having to replace multiple first-round draft choices and other contributors from last year’s team. The Buckeyes are currently 6/1 (+600) to win the title next season, according to BetMGM. No change at the top.
Here’s the full top 10:
Ohio State (+600)
Notre Dame (+700)
Oregon (+700)
Texas (+700)
Indiana (+750)
Georgia (+1000)
LSU (+1200)
Alabama (+1500)
Texas A&M (+1500)
Miami (+1500)
Texas Tech (+1500)