As the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2021 recruiting class, Emeka Egbuka could have gone to just about any school he wanted. He intentionally chose to go to the school where he’d have the most competition to get on the field.
When Egbuka arrived at Ohio State in 2021, he entered a wide receiver room that included four future first-round NFL draft picks – Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jameson Williams – alongside another future first-round pick (Marvin Harrison Jr.) in his recruiting class. While there were plenty of other schools where Egbuka would have had a chance to start as a freshman, Egbuka had to wait his turn behind Wilson, Olave and Smith-Njigba in year one at Ohio State – but he knew that would make him a better player in the long run.
Now that he’s on the verge of likely following their lead and becoming a first-round NFL draft pick himself, Egbuka couldn’t be happier that he made that decision.
“The room that I stepped into at Ohio State, there was Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Jameson Williams, Kamryn Babb, Marvin Harrison Jr.; that's probably one of the craziest rosters I've ever heard in my life,” Egbuka said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “And that was really the reason I decided to go to Ohio State was because I didn't want to go to a place where I wasn't going to be challenged by my peers. I wanted to go to a place where in order to see the field, I had to grow at an exponential rate because they were all growing as well. So being able to play with them and just being in that competitive atmosphere is why I'm standing before you all today.”
The No. 10 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, Egbuka arrived at Ohio State as one of its most-hyped receiver recruits ever and left OSU as one of its most accomplished receivers ever. Across four seasons as a Buckeye, Egbuka caught a school-record 205 passes for 2,868 yards (the second-most in school history) and 24 touchdowns (seventh-most in OSU history), all the while helping lead Ohio State to a national championship as a captain this past season.
While Egbuka’s talent was evident before he even arrived in Columbus, he credits his peers in Ohio State’s receiver room with playing a major role in helping him become the elite player he ultimately was as a Buckeye.
“It's hard not to learn from those guys just being in the room all the time with them,” Egbuka said. “I was roommates with Marvin for over a year, we did absolutely everything together, so he's one of my closest friends. But I can't remember a single day that we weren't at the facility getting in extra work, whether it was film study or catching on the JUGS machine or running extra routes. So we spent a lot of time together, and we always challenged each other. We have a very competitive dynamic. So we're always pushing each other and competing in everything we do, whether it's football, video games, bowling, whatever the case may be. So the whole room was kind of like that, with just that competitive nature, so we were always pushing each other.”
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Egbuka also credits Brian Hartline – who he expects to excel in his new role as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator – with helping him master his craft by pushing him just as hard as he pushed himself.
“Whenever I do watch myself, I’m my own hardest critic. I think part of the reason that I've excelled at Ohio State is because Coach Hartline and I share a very similar mindset. We're perfectionists to the nth degree,” Egbuka said. “So I think that every time we watch film, I never tell myself ‘Good job’ in my head. So I'm always critiquing myself, whether it's run blocking, route running, my splits before the play, just making sure I'm playing with the DB mentally. It's all a game for me, it's all an art, and I love learning the art of receiver.”
“He has a wealth of football knowledge. That just comes when you have so much experience and you play the game at such a high level,” Egbuka added when asked about Hartline. “WR1 for the Miami Dolphins, so I have full confidence in him. He's one of my close friends now that I've left. And just everything that he was able to teach me, I just know he's going to be able to pass on to the rest of the players at Ohio State.”
Egbuka likely would have already been at least a second-round pick if he had entered the 2024 NFL draft alongside Harrison after his junior season, but he chose to stay at Ohio State for his senior season to grow both on and off the field. Having accomplished both of those goals, Egbuka knows he made the right decision as he now makes the jump to the NFL as a national champion.
“Honestly, the biggest attribute I was looking to refine in my senior season was just my faith in God. That comes first and foremost before anything on the field, and that was the leading factor in me deciding to return from my senior year at Ohio State,” Egbuka said. “So I just spent a lot of time in prayer, and I felt like he was leading me back to Ohio State and do something bigger than football. Obviously we were able to win the national championship, which is amazing and a dream come true for me and something I'll never forget. But other than that, like we had some amazing moments where us players were able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and just share our faith in him.”
Egbuka is currently projected to be a first-round pick in 77.7% of mock drafts, according to NFL Mock Draft Database. Should Egbuka ultimately be selected in the first round of the NFL draft on April 24, it will mark the fourth straight year that Ohio State has had at least one wide receiver drafted in Round 1 (Wilson and Olave in 2022, Smith-Njigba in 2023 and Harrison in 2024), with Williams also becoming a first-round pick in 2022 after transferring to Alabama following the 2021 spring.
Asked in Indianapolis to pick the best receiver he played with at Ohio State – a group that also includes future NFL draft picks who are still at OSU like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate – Egbuka said that was an impossible question to answer. But he’s grateful he had the opportunity to play with all of them.
“Choosing between Jaxon, Jameson, Garrett, Chris, Marv, it's too hard to do that, to be honest,” Egbuka said. “I think I know one answer, then I want to switch it because I think about something else. They're all generational talents, to be honest.”
