As a freshman, Chris Olave was relatively uninvolved in the Ohio State offense, until the then-No. 10 Buckeyes hosted then-No. 4 Michigan in The Game.
On the Buckeyes’ opening drive, Olave snagged a short crossing route from the arm of quarterback Dwayne Haskins before taking it 24 yards for the first touchdown of the day. The Wolverines responded with a pair of field goals to make it a one-point game midway through the second quarter, but Olave struck again on a 24-yard go-route, which he corralled in the Michigan end zone.
Olave’s impact didn’t only come on offense, though.
Late in the third quarter and with Ohio State clinging to an eight-point lead, the Wolverines set up to punt from their own 36-yard line. At the snap of the ball, Olave stunted to the middle of the field, bursting through the Michigan line and blocking the punt. Then-freshman Sevyn Banks snagged the ball out of the air and housed it.
As his rivalry debut doubled as his coming out party, Olave said he wouldn’t be where he is now without that performance.
“It was huge. It definitely changed the way my career was going and it kind of boosted my confidence a little bit,” Olave said. “That specific game was huge for me and to have everybody celebrate and get around me and tell me so many things after that game, it was huge. It definitely boosted my confidence and changed my career.”
That first-career game against the Wolverines also marked the first two receiving touchdowns of Olave’s young career. Since then, he’s caught 33 more touchdowns en route to breaking David Boston’s program record of 34 touchdowns.
“It’s a huge blessing, I got to thank God for that. When I first came in, I came in as a three-star, lowest recruit in my class,” Olave said. “I didn’t know this would come to this day. But I just kept my head down and kept working and tried to maximize my potential here and I feel like I’ve done that.”
Olave also followed up his incredible Michigan debut with a solid performance in Ohio State’s 56-27 win at Michigan Stadium in 2019. The San Ysidro, California native nabbed two receptions for 68 yards and a first-quarter 57-yard touchdown, in which he blazed past cornerback Lavert Hill and safety Josh Metellus on a fly route for the score.
As someone who has already etched his name in The Game’s history books, Olave pointed to the competitive nature of the rivalry as something that boosts his play.
“It’s a competitive game, one of the best rivalries in sports. So when you come to that game, all the preparation we have in the offseason, winter, spring, summer and even fall camp, it all comes to this week and putting everything on the line,” Olave said. “That’s the competitiveness that comes out of me and the rest of the team.”
After Olave was a difference-maker in his freshman and sophomore-year battles with the Wolverines, he was unable to showcase his talents against Michigan in 2020 after being canceled due to COVID-19 issues in the Wolverines football program.
Buckeyes fans also lost the opportunity to see Olave gash the Michigan secondary again with the game slated to be played at Ohio Stadium. But with the cancellation, Olave would never play against the Wolverines in Columbus again.
“It was a weird year. COVID year. I think three of our games got canceled, unluckily that was a game that got canceled,” Olave said. “I’m just glad we get to play in it this year, so I’m looking forward to it.”
With last season’s cancellation, Ohio State’s freshman and sophomore classes both lost a valuable opportunity to actually experience The Game and the week that comes with it.
As someone who made his mark on the Michigan rivalry as an underclassman, Olave said the team’s current young guys won’t have any issue acclimating to the heightened stakes of the rivalry.
“I believe they understand, the freshmen that came in last year, they’ve been preparing almost 700 days for this game. So I know they’re prepared,” Olave said. “It’s just a matter of time for when the game comes and I know we’ll be ready.”
