COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State wide receiver group has gone through multiple transformation during Urban Meyer's tenure with the Buckeyes over the years.

When Meyer got here the room was referred to as a "clown show". In less that two weeks all expectations are that three receivers will be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft. And this spring the receivers have been somewhere between an injury ward and the great unknown with a lot of young players and players who have not made that leap all vying to make a mark.

It is hard to replace the production of players like Michael Thomas, Braxton Miller and Jalin Marshall but that is exactly what the Buckeyes are going to have to do, they have no choice. It becomes more difficult with players like Noah Brown, Corey Smith, Dontre Wilson and Curtis Samuel all being limited or out for spring ball, but once again, the Buckeyes have no choice.

That put the pressure on the remaining wide receivers on the roster to step up and perform over the spring and during the annual spring game. And that is what happened with 11 different pass catchers (nine scholarship receivers/tight ends, a running back and a walk-on receiver) all combining for 31 receptions, 452 receiving yards and three touchdowns in what Meyer later described as a pass heavy scrimmage.

The soon to be third-year receiver Terry McLaurin led all receivers in yards with 111 on the day and while he said that he did not feel pressure, certainly understood the importance for him and his unit to have a big day.

"This was our time this spring to make an impact and put our towel in for an opportunity to play this fall," McLaurin said after the spring game. "I would not say we necessarily feel the pressure; we know what is at stake. We just hope to take that next step forward coming into this year because we want to be the best group in the country."

Ohio State's run/pass ratio was a far cry from the 50-50 split that Meyer professes to want to see moving forward in 2015 with the Buckeyes throwing the ball 36.4-percent of the time, the lowest number under Meyer since year one in Columbus. Ohio State's 188.8 passing yards per game was also a low mark since the 2012 season where the Buckeyes averaged only 181.5 yards via the pass per game.

A large part of that imbalance is a result of having Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield as the nation's top running back, but Zeke is gone along with Ohio State's top pass catchers from 2015, meaning that the void is going to be very real as the offense looks to find a new identity.

Does McLaurin worry that he runs the risk of being a forgotten piece of the offense as so many players push to be noticed a with such a daunting task ahead for the Ohio State offense?

"I just try and go out there and control the things that I can control," McLaurin added. "I can't really worry about what other people say or if people are counting me out. I just want to go out there and get better and I felt like I took some steps forward this spring to put myself in a position to really help this offense this coming fall."

That does not mean that McLaurin is taking a selfish approach to things however and only focusing on making himself better. As one of the elder statesmen of the group, he is working with some of the young guys as well to try and raise the level of the room rather than just of himself to make the team better.

"I was even able to help some of the young guys (like) Austin (Mack) and Torrance (Gibson) know what it is like to be competitive in the spring." McLaurin said. "I just wanted to take that next step forward being a guy that this offense can depend on, try and find my role in this offense and I just felt like this is a lot better spring for myself and as a unit I felt like we took a lot of steps forward this year."

One thing that the offense was lacking in 2015 that it had years prior was a deep threat and McLaurin has been one of the players challenged to fill that void.

"Guys like me, James (Clark), Torrance, Parris (Campbell) and a whole bunch of guys that can go deep, we have got to really work this summer and I feel like we did a decent job this spring of tracking that deep ball because we really need that in our offense," McLaurin said.

McLaurin hauled in a 52-yard touchdown from Joe Burrow in the spring game and the Buckeyes will need a lot more of that moving forward. If McLaurin can be that guy, expect to see 83 on the field a lot more in 2016 and beyond and the run/pass ratio to balance out and take some wear and tear off of J.T. Barrett's legs.