COLUMBUS - As the first two months of Ohio State's season unfolded, DeVier Posey became Terrelle Pryor's favorite receiver.

Now Posey seems poised to become the Buckeyes' next star receiver.

The sophomore from Cincinnati had a breakout performance in Ohio State's 38-7 victory over Minnesota on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Pryor and Posey connected eight times for 161 yards and two touchdowns - on bombs of 62 and 57 yards - as the Buckeyes' struggling offense came to life.

Posey entered the game with 30 receptions - almost twice as many as teammate Dane Sanzenbacher - but his catches, yardages and touchdowns against Minnesota all were single-game career bests.

The development of Posey and Sanzenbacher was considered critical to the offense as a whole, because Ohio State lost Brian Robiskie, who graduated, and Brian Hartline, who left early, after last season. Both are in the NFL now - Robiskie with the Cleveland Browns and Hartline with the Miami Dolphins.

Posey, however, said his development is ongoing.

"I feel, personally, that I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet," he said. "I haven't reached my full potential yet, especially because of my hamstring issue early on."

That injury seemed to prevent Posey from stretching defenses as much as he and the Buckeyes might have liked early. His longest reception going into Saturday's game was for 34 yards, but Posey and Pryor certainly stretched the Golden Gophers' defense.

"The touchdowns feel good, but I'm only half of the equation," Posey said. "Terrelle made great passes."

The two sophomores both were key components as the Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten Conference) put back-to-back poor offensive performances against Wisconsin and - especially - Purdue behind it.

Pryor completed 13 of 25 passes for 239 yards and ran for 104 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Ohio State's offense, and particularly Pryor, had received harsh criticism of late. That criticism intensified in the wake of a stunning 26-18 loss to Purdue a week ago in which Pryor threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked five times.

"We really went out and tried our hardest today," Posey said. "Everything we practiced, we utilized to the max this game. That said, there is always room for improvement. ... I feel like I still have a lot of learning to do. I'm learning a lot and really trying to incorporate that knowledge onto the field."

It showed on Saturday against Minnesota.

epuskas@tribtoday.com