COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wide receiver Chris Olave is headed to New Orleans after the Saints selected him with the 11th pick in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night.
Olave leaves Ohio State as one of the best in school history after setting a school record with 35 receiving touchdowns (the fourth-most in Big Ten Conference history) and ranked third in receptions (176) and fifth in receiving yards (2,711).
He also ranks second with 11 100-yard games in his career.
Olave was named a first-team All-American in 2021 by the American Football Coaches Association and also a second-team All-American by AP, Walter Camp and FWAA.
He and Garrett Wilson became the first set of Ohio State wide receivers to be named first-team All-Americans in the same season.
Olave earned first-team all-Big Ten Conference honors in 2021 and 2020 after being named to the third-team in 2019.
During his senior season, Olave caught 65 passes for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was tied for sixth nationally in 2021 in receiving touchdown.
In 2020, he led the Buckeyes in receptions (50), receiving yards (729) and touchdowns (seven). He tied a school record for receptions per game with 7.1.
As a true sophomore, Olave finished as the team leader in receiving yards (849), yards per catch (17.3) and touchdowns (12).
Most fans will remember his standout game from his freshman year where he caught two touchdowns and blocked a punt that led to a touchdown in the 63-39 win over That Team Up North.
In his career, Olave named on three consecutive Big Ten Conference championships teams (2018, 2019 and 2020) and on two that qualified for the College Football Playoffs (2019 and 2020).
In 2021, Olave graduated with his degree in consumer and family financial services.