Ohio State's return men are set as the team heads to Bloomington, Indiana to open its season.
Junior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka will start as the Buckeyes' punt returner while graduate wideout Xavier Johnson handles its kickoff returns, Ryan Day announced at his press conference Thursday.
Johnson returned 12 kickoffs for 269 yards in 2022, an average of 22.4 yards per return. A contributor in several different fields for Ohio State, the former walk-on posted 146 rushing yards and 151 receiving yards with three total touchdowns to go along with his returning numbers.
Egbuka has two prior seasons worth of experience as a return man for the Buckeyes, though it was kick return duties he handled as a freshman in 2021. That year he returned 20 kicks for 580 yards, an average of 29.0 yards per return. He also returned one kick for 25 yards in 2022.
He picked up punt return responsibilities last season for Ohio State, however, with 11 returns for 75 yards (a 6.8-yard average). He had a 78-yard touchdown return called back due to multiple penalties in Week 2 against Arkansas State (1:30 into the video below).
Egbuka also enjoyed a breakout season as a receiver in 2022, logging 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns with two rushing scores.
Day said Ohio State considered other candidates for the roles, but ultimately decided Egbuka and Johnson brought the best combination of dependability and explosiveness.
"When you talk about returning punt and kickoff, they require a certain skill set," Day said. "The first thing is, they have to be able to field the ball. We put some different guys back there and felt like, once the ball was in their hands, they gave us a real good chance but didn't quite handle the ball really well.
"You'll see different guys have some opportunities as the year goes on, but Emeka and Xavier certainly are the guys that give us the best chance right now."
Ohio State kicks off against Indiana at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
