Tag: emeka egbuka

Ohio State lands nine players on PFF top ten positional rankings

Ohio State lands nine players on PFF top ten positional rankings #GoBucks

Pro Football Focus (PFF) has been releasing their top ten positional rankings for returning players and Ohio State leads the way with nine players making an appearance on their respective positional list.

Of the ten running backs ranked, two Buckeyes make the list with both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson making the cut. Henderson finished last season with a PFF receiving grade of 73.6, which led all Big Ten backs. Judkins leads all current Power Five backs with 2,726 rushing yards since 2022.

Emeka Egbuka also made his positional list at wide receiver and will have an opportunity to be the number-one option in Columbus after the departure of Marvin Harrison Jr. Donovan Jackson is the lone offensive lineman to make his positional list.

Both Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau made the top ten list for the edge defenders and it makes sense considering Sawyer was the only edge last season to earn grades 85 or higher as both a pass-rusher and run-defender. Tuimoloau is fourth among Big Ten edge defenders the last two seasons with 69 pressures. Tyleik Williams also made his positional list after tallying 26 run-defense stops, which was second among Big Ten defensive tackles.

Denzel Burke also made the cut after forcing 10 incompletions this past season, which was 20th among Power Five cornerbacks. Caleb Downs was also the number one returning safety according to PFF.

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Emeka Egbuka wants you at Student Appreciation Day

This should be a fun event! #GoBucks

The date is quickly approaching and arriving. In fact, it’s this weekend. What are we talking about exactly? Well, it’s the Ohio State football program’s Student Appreciation Day that’s set to be held this Saturday (March 30), at 11:30 AM ET.

It’s a chance for students to get an up close and personal look with the OSU football program and it is sure to be a good and memorable time, one in which it’s important to gain access to the players, coaches, and staff personnel for Ohio State students.

To get you pumped up for the event, current OSU receiver Emeka Egbuka made himself available in a social media video to pump up the event a little. Here’s a look at Egbuka and what he has to say about what has become an annual event within the Ohio State football program.

So, get your friends and head on down to what should be a pretty neat and cool experience.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Four prominent Ohio State players are staying in school for 2024

Four prominent Ohio State players are staying in school for 2024 instead of declaring for the draft

With the deadline for underclassmen to declare their eligibility for the 2024 NFL draft coming up quickly, four Ohio State Buckeyes have opted to return to Columbus for another season of college football.

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau and cornerback Denzel Burke have all announced they’re not entering the draft. All three had the potential to be top 50 overall picks in the upcoming draft and have been fixtures of two-round mock drafts for months.

Tuimoloau cited “unfinished business” in his social media post announcing his return. Burke also brought up the idea of winning a championship with his Buckeye teammates in his announcement.

Ohio State football NFL draft declaration tracker

Ohio State gets news from receiver Emeka Egbuka on NFL plans

Big news! #GoBucks

It sure has been a positive whirlwind swirling around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as of late with news of many of the Ohio State football players deciding to come back for one more season rather than head off to the NFL. As positive as it has been, it just got a lot more rosy with receiver Emeka Egbuka entering the fray and also announcing that he will return for one more year in the Scarlet and Gray.

There had been rumblings and rumors that it was a real possibility that the potential first rounder was leaning toward returning, and he made good on those with an announcement Thursday, adding to a slew of OSU players that could have gone on to the NFL, but decided on unfinished business on the banks of the Olentangy.

This is arguably be the biggest news on players eligible to leave early for the NFL to date. Egbuka entered the season expected to have a massive campaign and potential first-rounder. He had to play in the shadows of Biletnikoff winner, Marvin Harrison Jr., and also dealt with an ankle injury that no doubt derailed how he wanted his junior season to go.

He finished the season with 41 receptions for 515 yards (12.6 avg.) and four touchdowns despite the injury and missed time.

Now, it seems, Egbuka could potentially be WR1 if and when Harrison makes it official that he’s headed to the NFL. It’s been a fantastic week in Columbus with transfer portal additions, recruiting commitments, and all of these players deciding to return.

We’re still waiting on a couple of more big names, and when those players declare their intentions on the NFL or running out of the tunnel in the ‘Shoe again, we’ll let you know.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka named Panthers’ perfect 2024 draft prospect

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema thinks the Panthers’ perfect draft prospect is one of the nation’s top wideouts.

When a team finishes with the worst record in the league, the perfect prospect is normally ripe for the picking atop the draft board. But that’s not exactly the case for the NFL-worst Carolina Panthers, who will have to do a bit more digging for their guy this offseason.

Pro Football Focus draft analyst Trevor Sikkema recently paired each team with their perfect prospect from the upcoming 2024 class. And for the Panthers, whose very first pick will come at the start of the second round, he opts for Ohio State University wide receiver Emeka Egbuka:

The Panthers just need someone – anyone – who can be a reliable target in the receiving game. Egbuka could be available to pick at the top of the second round. He can play a variety of positions as a receiver (X, flanker, slot) and could be the perfect high-volume rookie receiver for them to jump-start that passing attack.

Carolina, of course, traded to the top of the 2023 draft and ultimately selected University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Part of that move saw the Panthers hand the Chicago Bears their 2024 first-rounder—which ended up being this year’s No. 1 overall pick.

But now, the Panthers need some help for last year’s first pick—and Egbuka would certainly qualify. The 6-foot-1, 203-pounder recorded 1,666 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons for the Buckeyes, proving to be one of college football’s most polished pass catchers.

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Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka named Panthers’ perfect 2024 draft prospect

PFF’s Trevor Sikkema thinks the Panthers’ perfect draft prospect is one of the nation’s top wideouts.

When a team finishes with the worst record in the league, the perfect prospect is normally ripe for the picking atop the draft board. But that’s not exactly the case for the NFL-worst Carolina Panthers, who will have to do a bit more digging for their guy this offseason.

Pro Football Focus draft analyst Trevor Sikkema recently paired each team with their perfect prospect from the upcoming 2024 class. And for the Panthers, whose very first pick will come at the start of the second round, he opts for Ohio State University wide receiver Emeka Egbuka:

The Panthers just need someone – anyone – who can be a reliable target in the receiving game. Egbuka could be available to pick at the top of the second round. He can play a variety of positions as a receiver (X, flanker, slot) and could be the perfect high-volume rookie receiver for them to jump-start that passing attack.

Carolina, of course, traded to the top of the 2023 draft and ultimately selected University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Part of that move saw the Panthers hand the Chicago Bears their 2024 first-rounder—which ended up being this year’s No. 1 overall pick.

But now, the Panthers need some help for last year’s first pick—and Egbuka would certainly qualify. The 6-foot-1, 203-pounder recorded 1,666 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons for the Buckeyes, proving to be one of college football’s most polished pass catchers.

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Denzel Burke, Emeka Egbuka announce decision to play in Cotton Bowl while deciding future

This is refreshing news. #GoBucks

On Tuesday, several members of the Ohio State football team were made available to the media at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and that meant that we had our head on a swivel for any news items that might come out as a result.

One of those nuggets became public knowledge when the world got to hear that there’s a groundswell of sentiment for some Ohio State players trying to decide between their NFL futures and whether or not they’ll be playing in the Cotton Bowl. In particular, based on comments directly from the duo, both receiver Emeka Egbuka and cornerback Denzel Burke confirmed that they plan on playing against Missouri in Dallas, which is obviously welcome news for Buckeye fans.

Furthermore, Tyleik Williams, Donovan Jackson, and Jack Sawyer also confirmed they’ll suit up at least one more time when OSU takes on the Tigers, so this is starting to look like a motivated bunch.

We are still waiting on NFL decisions from these two and guys like Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson, but at least it looks like there will be very competitive team playing in AT&T Stadium on the night of December 29.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Saints one of several teams with scouts at Ohio State-Minnesota

The Saints were one of several teams scouting Ohio State-Minnesota. Could they reopen the Buckeyes pipeline in the 2024 draft?

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the New Orleans Saints had a scout in the building for Saturday’s college football game between Minnesota and Ohio State, per Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope.

New Orleans has pulled a lot of talent from Ohio State over the years — some notable names on their current roster include cornerback Marshon Lattimore, linebacker Pete Werner, and wide receivers Chris Olave and Michael Thomas. They also drafted rookie safety Jordan Howden from Minnesota earlier this year, so it’s safe to say the Saints weren’t keeping their attention on just one sideline.

But Ohio State ran away with this one 37-3, and some of their top 2024 draft prospects showed out. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (the No. 1-rated player in the upcoming class) had a relatively quiet game, catching 3 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown, while his teammate Emeka Egbuka led the Buckeyes with 5 catches for 83 yards. Running back TreVeyon Henderson gained 146 rushing yards and had two scoring runs on just 15 carries.

Any of them could help the Saints in 2024. Thomas could be a free agent if the Saints don’t work out a new deal with him after the season, and their running game been nothing to write home about. A big-play threat like Henderson could add a lot to their struggling offense. Egbuka could make a lot of sense as a Thomas replacement.

Don’t overlook defensive end JT Tuimoloau, either; the 6-foot-4, 270-pound first-round prospect nails the size thresholds Dennis Allen looks for at the position and he came away with a couple of quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery. Maybe he’s the guy who could take some pressure off Cameron Jordan?

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Rutgers football: Secondary did well in containing Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka

Rutgers football stopped Ohio State’s outstanding wide receiver duo.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Into the early stages of the fourth quarter, Rutgers football was hanging tight with No. 1 Ohio State. And it was the play of the secondary that was a major reason why Rutgers was down just 21-16 in the fourth quarter.

Rutgers did a tremendous job in limiting the space and amount of touches that Mark Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka got in Saturday’s game. Both wide receivers, likely first round picks, have been impressive this season but each standout struggled against a strong performance from the Rutgers secondary.

Harrison was held to just 25 receiving yards, his second-lowest tally of the season (although he did have two important touchdown catches in the second half). As for Egbuka, his 29 receiving yards were also the second-lowest of the season.

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It was part of a strong defensive display from Rutgers that limited Ohio State to just 328 yards of total offense in what was a 35-16 win for the Buckeyes.

“We are getting better on defense, we are getting better on offense, we are getting better in the kicking game,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said after the game.

“Those two receivers are both first round draft picks, okay, and I think they were held to something like 50-some-yard together, both of them. Those are two first round draft picks. But again, for us to win that game, we needed to be darn near perfect. I wasn’t; the players weren’t; the coaches weren’t. We’ll keep battling away but there’s nobody that’s saying, oh, that was a good, close, no, no. There’s two things. There’s winning and there’s losing. Those are the only two things that happen in a game.”

Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord threw for 189 yards, his lowest passing total of the season.

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Down 9-7 at halftime, Ohio State capitalized on Rutgers mistakes and miscues to start rolling in the second half. A pick-six in the third quarter and some strong running from TreVeyon Henderson (128 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries) keyed Ohio State to the win.

 “Give a lot of credit to Greg [Schiano] and their staff. He’s doing a great job with their players,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said after the game.

“Playing on the road, you have to find a way to win the game and we did. It was good to pull away.”

Texans get C.J. Stroud Buckeye help in Draft Wire 3-round mock

The Houston Texans grab a Buckeyes receiver to give C.J. Stroud another weapon in the latest Draft Wire 3-round mock.

The Houston Texans found their quarterback in C.J. Stroud. The goal each subsequent offseason will be finding Stroud weapons and protection.

Assuredly the Texans’ No. 2 overall pick will have talented options on rookie deals in 2024 with Nico Collins, John Metchie, and Tank Dell. However, they wanted to give Stroud an option from back in his college days, they could go with Emeka Egbuka.

According to Curt Popejoy from the Draft Wire, the Texans use their 24th overall pick in Round 1 of the 2024 draft to take the Ohio State wideout.

Once considered the No. 2 receiver in the draft, Egbuka slid a little thanks to a questionable Ohio State offense.

Egbuka has generated 22 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns through five games for Ohio State in 2023.

Using that premium of a pick would have to be contingent on the help at receiver and also the cost to bolster the position. Houston would be using their first-rounder obtained via the Cleveland Browns to select that deep in Round 1.

The Texans use their No. 48 overall pick in Round 2 to shore up the defensive line with Cincinnati’s Dontay Corleone. Houston rounds out the mock with Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon at No. 95 overall.

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