Often Overlooked, Emeka Egbuka Is Putting On A Show

Sometimes quietly, always effectively, Emeka Egbuka has made a career of making plays.

On Saturday, the Ohio State senior wide receiver did something he’s never done before. He caught three touchdown passes in OSU’s 35-7 win over Iowa, becoming just the 14th Buckeye to ever accomplish the feat.

The three-touchdown game now marks the 29th time that Egbuka’s name is written in Ohio State’s record book. And if things continue the way they’re going, by the end of this season he’s going to find his name at the very top of the book in a couple of categories.

Egbuka is currently tied for 7th in school history with 154 receptions, and his 2,290 career yards receiving and 19 touchdown catches both rank 10th all-time. He is 48 receptions, 609 yards, and 13 touchdowns away from owning all three records outright.

The touchdowns will be difficult to reach, but everything else is within his grasp.

Egbuka tied his career-high with nine receptions in Saturday’s win, totaling 71 yards along with his three touchdowns. For the season, Egbuka has now caught 30 passes for 433 yards and five touchdowns. He is currently on pace to become just the second Buckeye ever with two 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Former teammate Marvin Harrison, Jr. became the first player to join that list last year. Fittingly, with Egbuka’s next reception, he will tie Harrison for sixth all-time in catches.

Despite his successes — and the fact that he was the No. 1 receiver in the 2021 recruiting class, Egbuka has spent much of his time at Ohio State in the shadows of others.

After playing sparingly as a freshman, Egbuka stepped up as a sophomore when Jaxon Smith-Njigba went down with a hamstring injury. He caught 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns, but much of that season was spent with a spotlight on Harrison, quarterback CJ Stroud, and the unending questions about Smith-Njigba’s potential return.

Then last year happened and Egbuka had his own season-long injury to deal with. Harrison’s light then became even brighter. And even now as a senior captain who is leading his team in catches, he’s still not getting as much attention as true freshman Jeremiah Smith.

To be fair, Smith has taken the college football world by storm. He is second on the team with 23 receptions, but leads with 453 yards and six touchdowns. His weekly highlight-reel catches have been must-watch television for football fans all season long. Like Egbuka, Smith was also the No. 1-ranked receiver in his recruiting class. And like Smith, Egbuka has also lived up to the hype, even if there hasn’t been as much hype as there should be.

For most of his career, he has been seen by many as the 1B to somebody else’s 1A, but Emeka Egbuka is nobody’s second fiddle. He is Ohio State’s one-man band and he’s got a long list of hits.

Egbuka is an effective lead blocker in the running game. He can move the chains as well as anybody in the country. There is not a better route runner in the nation. He can turn a quick out into a long run, and a long run into a quick six. He is a walking clinic in everything he does.

It is somewhat fitting that OSU’s all-time leading pass catcher KJ Hill and all-time receiving yardage leader Michael Jenkins have also both been overlooked in their time as Buckeyes. Jenkins was one of the few 1,000-yard receivers in OSU history prior to the arrival of head coach Ryan Day. Hill, meanwhile, also caught passes in a school-record 48-consecutive games. Neither player is generally mentioned when a discussion of OSU’s all-time great receivers gets stirred up, however.

The same may ultimately be true of Emeka Egbuka, but it shouldn’t be.

While fans and media may overlook Egbuka at times, the Ohio State coaches and opposing defenses know all too well just how valuable he is.

Whether it’s before, after, or during the catch, everyone can trust that he will be doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing exactly when he is supposed to be doing it.

And then he’s going to do it again.

You won’t hear him touting his abilities. You’ll never see him asking for the football. You may not even always notice his greatness.

But we should.

Emeka Egbuka is going to leave Ohio State as one of its all-time great receivers.

It’s okay to recognize that while he is still here adding his name to one of college football’s most-storied record books.

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