'Old Soul' Emeka Egbuka Is Buckeyes' Answer Man

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka didn’t catch many passes in 2021 as a true freshman and then dealt with injuries last year as a junior, and yet if he has the same kind of season he did as a sophomore, he could leave OSU as its all-time receptions and receiving yardage leader.

But he’s been much more than that as well.

Since his arrival in January of 2021, Egbuka has only earned positive reports from coaches and teammates about his maturity and his approach to the game and his responsibilities in it.

This past week, Egbuka was one of the three player representatives chosen by Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day to speak on behalf of the Buckeyes at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Coaches don’t just bring anybody with them and not just anybody is willing to go.

“Emeka Egbuka, I can’t say enough about who Emeka is,” Day said in his opening statement in Indianapolis on Tuesday. “He’s an old soul. Since he has been here, he’s been a warrior. He has his degree. He had to make his decision on whether he wanted to go to the NFL or not. He decided to come back with a degree in hand. We didn’t get to see the best version of him last season with his ankle injury, but we’re seeing it now.”

Day lauded Egbuka’s leadership, saying “he’s been a leader since he walked in the building as a freshman.” The Buckeyes must replace departed receiver veterans Marvin Harrison, Jr., Xavier Johnson, and Julian Fleming, and much of that job falls on Egbuka’s shoulders.

It’s something that the OSU graduate if perfectly fine with because he’s been preparing for this moment long before he ever arrived.

“Yeah, I’ve always felt like I was a natural born leader,” Egbuka said this week. “And that was always something that I really tried to do whenever I was in a situation to do so, but just being at Ohio State has really helped me hone those skills and be a leader who carries the water. Who doesn’t just talk the talk but also walks the walk.”

And in his time at Ohio State, Egbuka has been a player asked to do a whole lot of walking. Day lamented the fact that we didn’t get to see him at his best last year because of his ankle injury. What does his best look like?

“Well, Emeka can do so many things,” Day said. “I’ve always said, ‘I don’t know what the question is, but the answer was Emeka.’ You know, whether it was punt, punt return, he could catch a handoff. He could throw a bubble. He could block. He could run a deep route. I mean, there’s not much Emeka can’t do. He can do a lot of things as a player.”

As a true freshman, Egbuka led the Big Ten in kick return average (29.0). As a sophomore, he finished third in the conference in receptions (74), receiving yards (1,151), and touchdown catches (10). He was then injured in the fifth game of the season last year and was never fully healthy again after that.

Emeka Egbuka is now 78 receptions and 1,041 yards away from being OSU’s career leader in both categories. He isn’t focused on numbers, but he has been focused on doing what he can to be a better producer in his final year as a Buckeye.

“Kind of just playing bigger, stronger, faster,” Egbuka said of what he’s worked on in the offseason. “Getting my body healthy, obviously, from the little hiccups that I had last year. And just being being someone who can be explosive. Go up and make those 50/50 plays, turn those hitches into touchdowns, and become a stout blocker on the perimeter.”

Egbuka has continued to get stronger, which created a tiny bit of contention with the release of EA’s College Football video game earlier this month. Every player is rated on a scale of 1-99 in a number of categories. Egbuka’s strength rating is “just” a 73.

“I was a little disappointed in that one. I’m not gonna lie to you,” Egbuka said with a smile. “Because I know, I’m not naming names, but there’s some wide receivers around the nation where it’s like, they might be, you know, 190 pounds and all that type of stuff. And I feel like I’m 205, kind of a strong guy, and I got lower strength than them? So I don’t really know what that’s about.”

Video game controversy aside, there is no controversy for Ryan Day when it comes to Emeka Egbuka.

“When I think about ‘Meka, I think about someone who’s just strong,” he said. “Strong as a player. He’s strong mentally, strong in his faith. He’s somebody who is a warrior, and somebody that we’re going to count on this this year in big spots.”