It was easy to miss, but Emeka Egbuka was playing on bum wheels at the end of 2022.
His stats were that of an emerging superstar. Marvin Harrison Jr. was and is rightfully gobbling up headlines. Still, Egbuka posted 74 receptions for 1,151 yards — the fifth most in a season in Ohio State history — and 10 touchdowns with two rushing scores a year ago.
Even as he amassed back-to-back 100-yard outings against Michigan and Georgia to close the campaign, though, the Steilacoom, Washington, native wasn’t at full speed. That’s changed going into 2023.
“I’m healthier,” Egbuka said. “I feel better than I did last year. There were a couple of games where I just had to power through. But this is football. You’re never going to be 100 percent. But my body is feeling good again, and I’m just excited to play.”
Egbuka isn’t certain what a fully healthy year looks like for him. But with sky-high expectations for what he and Harrison can accomplish in 2023, one has to believe it isn’t good for opposing secondaries.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Egbuka said. “We’re going to see this year, hopefully, if I can keep my body (healthy) with the grace of the Lord by my side. I’m just going to play to my full potential and to my full ability.”
It’s not as though Egbuka’s entire game was lacking due to his ailments in 2022, but that extra half-step can make all the difference in sports in general, especially football.
“Just that explosiveness,” Harrison said of what a fully-healthy, fully-realized Egbuka brings to the table. “I think he might have lacked a little bit (last year), just from certain injuries. I’m very excited to see what he can do when he is healthy.”
Keeping up the production that he did in 2022 was a matter of Egbuka finding other methods of space creation.
“You’ve got to find little ways, little advantages, to train your mind,” Egbuka said. “Maybe I can’t run the route this way because my legs hurt, so let me find a more creative way to get open. So training all these little aspects about the game, that’s what makes football so special.”
“That explosiveness — I think he might have lacked a little bit (last year), just from certain injuries. I’m very excited to see what he can do when he is healthy.”– Marvin Harrison Jr. on Emeka Egbuka
His lower-body issues continued “nagging” him into spring practice, so a few minor surgeries helped resolve the issues Egbuka dealt with a year ago for the long term.
In summer workouts and even into the fall, Egbuka has stayed on top of things with the Ohio State training staff to ensure that if he can do anything to prevent wear and tear, it’s done.
“I’m staying on top of my body to make sure I can be as healthy as possible,” Egbuka said. “It is football, so you’re always going to have little nicks and bruises.”
He’s a significant presence for the wide receivers room, not just for his incredible on-field ability across from Harrison but also for his leadership.
At the end of Ohio State’s 11th fall camp day, which was open for media viewing, Egbuka gave a rousing speech to various first- and second-teamers who weren’t executing offensively, demonstrating a more vocal role in leading the team.
As freshmen like Carnell Tate have shown signs of making an early impact in their Ohio State careers, he’s been sure to take them under his wing.
“That’s what we do in Zone 6, we take the keys and we pass them on to the next guy,” Egbuka said. “I expect (the freshmen) to transcend everything that we’ve done here, and if they don’t, then that’s kind of on me. It’s my job to pass the torch and give them every bit and every nugget that I’ve taken from here.”
Now, it will be a matter of teaming up with Harrison to form what is expected to be the nation’s best wide receiver tandem and aiming for a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not that Egbuka is thinking that far ahead in the latter case.
“We’re just going to grind. We’re going to work as hard as we can,” Egbuka said. “We’re going to study our plays, we’re going to treat every opponent with respect and come out with our hair on fire.”
