By Danielle Daniels

Emeka Egbuka OSU WR Press Conference CFP Oregon Preview 12 2024

THE EMEKA EGBUKE FILE

• Position:

  Wide Receiver

• Height:

  6-1

• Weight:

  205

• Hometown:

  Steilacoom, Wash.

• Last School:

  Steilacoom

• Year:

  Graduate Student

Follow on Social Media
Twitter: @emeka_egbuka
Instagram: @emeka.egbuka

Ohio State Overview
• Emeka will be the leader of what will once again be a talented wide receiver corps at Ohio State
• He is a terrific and talented receiver who has started 24 times, played in 35 games the past three seasons and will contend for national honors in 2024
• He enters the 2024 campaign needing 78 receptions to break K.J. Hill’s school record of 201, set between 2016-19
• He also needs 1,041 receiving yards to break the yardage career record of 2,898 yards currently held by Michael Jenkins (2000-03)
• Enters the 2024 season with 124 career receptions (T14th at Ohio State) for 1,857 yards (16th at Ohio State) and 14 touchdowns
• Battled through an injury in 2023 that kept him out of three games (Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin)
• Caught 41 passes in 2023 for 515 yards and four touchdowns and was named third-team all-Big Ten by the conference coaches
• Had an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he finished ninth nationally in receiving yards with 1,151 and ninth nationally with 46 receptions of 10-or-more yards
• His true sophomore campaign included 74 receptions and 10 touchdowns in addition to his impressive yardage total of 1,151 that ranks sixth at Ohio State for a single season
• Was 15th nationally in 2022 with 19 catches of 20-or-more yards
• Ranked third in the Big Ten in receptions, yards and touchdowns and was named second-team all-Big Ten
• Averaged 6.8 yards per punt return off 11 returns with a long of 18
• A 2022 finalist for the Paul Hornung Award
• Had six 100-yard receiving games in 2022 to rank fifth in Ohio State history
• Set career-bests during the 2022 season with nine receptions vs. both Notre Dame and Michigan and had eight vs. Georgia
• His six 100-yard receiving games featured 143 yards vs. Michigan State in addition to 125 yards vs. Michigan, 112 vs. Georgia, 118 vs. both Wisconsin and Arkansas State and 116 vs. Toledo
• Has accumulated 51 receptions for 610 yards and four TDs in eight games vs. ranked opponents (vs. No. 11 Utah, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 13 Penn State, No. 3 Michigan, No. 1 Georgia, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 3 Michigan and No. 9 Missouri)
• Enters 2024 with receptions in 24 consecutive games
• Lettered as a true freshman in 2021 after getting offensive snaps in eight games and playing in 11 games
• Was No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference and No. 12 nationally with a kickoff return average of 29.0 yards per return in 2021
• Averaged over 41 yards per kickoff return (4 ret.; 166 yards) in the win over Maryland with a season-long return of 67 yards
• Earned Freshman All-America status by Pro Football Focus
• Caught nine passes for 191 yards with a team-high 21.2 yards-per-catch average
• Had an 85-yard catch-and-run reception from Kyle McCord vs. Akron that represents the third-longest pass play in school history and the sixth-longest play overall from scrimmage
• Had an outstanding Rose Bowl  game with 163 kickoff return yards and three receptions for 46 yards with a long of 30 yards
• Is a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (second team), a two-time Academic all-Big Ten honoree and a three-time OSU-Scholar-Athlete who has graduated with his degree in marketing

Honors & Awards
2023: Graduated in December with his degree in marketing, third-team all-Big Ten (coaches), OSU Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten honoree
2022: Finalist for the Paul Hornung Award, second-team all-Big Ten Conference (coaches & media), College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (second team), Academic all-Big Ten, OSU Scholar-Athlete
2021: Freshman All-American (Pro Football Focus), honorable mention all-Big Ten on special teams, OSU Scholar-Athlete

More on Emeka
• Emeka enrolled in classes at Ohio State in January 2021, one of 14 from the 2021 recruiting class to arrive early
• A consensus five-star prospect who is the nation’s top-ranked wide receiver and the No. 8 overall player according to 247Sports
• The 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year is the state of Washington
• Caught 83 passes for 1,607 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior
• Also returned three punts for scores and rushed for four TDs
• Totaled 2,240 all-purpose yards
• Recorded 28 tackles and eight interceptions from his defensive back position and returned two for touchdowns
• Helped Steilacoom reach the 2A state championship game where he set a title-game record with 18 receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns to go along with eight tackles and an interceptions
• Caught 199 passes for nearly 4,000 yards and 61 TDs in his career
• Washington moved its 2020 high school football season to the spring of 2021 and thus Egbuka did not play a senior season
• Was also a standout baseball player
• Parents are Henry Egbuka and Rhonda Ogilvie; step father is Eric Ogilvie
• Has a younger brother, Keanan, and a younger sister, Eva

Egbuka is a Christian. Egbuka’s grandfather Ronald Frederick is the incumbent mayor of DuPont, Washington.

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA COMMONS AND OHIO STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS