WATCH: Emeka Egbuka gain 85 yards on receptions

Watch: Emeka Egbuka take his first catch of the game 85 yards! #GoBucks

The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking good against the Akron Zips and seem to be on their way to a runaway win. Kyle McCord has had an up and down debut, but there has been some electricity in the passing game despite him not lighting up the sky with fireworks.

One of those electric moments saw the true freshman quarterback hooked up with another true freshman in receiver Emeka Egbuka for an 85-yard scamper that should have gone the distance before the youngster got caught.

The reception was the first for Egbuka all game and was also his first and only target of the contest. Kyle McCord sits at 13-of-18 for 319 yards and two touchdowns and an ugly interception. All in all though, it’s a good showing for a team that needs to build some momentum towards the Big Ten season.

Ohio State now needs to keep the pedal down and continue to be aggressive and intentional on both sides of the ball.

[lawrence-related id=61806,61788,61779,61778,61773]

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

Black Stripe Alert: Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka becomes official Buckeye

Another Ohio State football freshman became an official member of the team. 5-star eceiver Emeka Egbuka shed his black stripe on Tuesday.

The Ohio State football team welcomed its newest member to Zone 6 earlier today when Emeka Egbuka had his black stripe removed. You may remember that Egbuka was a five-star recruit out of the state of Washington and the No. 1 ranked wide receiver in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Egbuka becomes the second receiver to shed the black strip after teammate Marvin Harrison Jr. did the same last week. Egbuka was excited to receive the honor and looking forward to big things as a Buckeye.

“Just appreciate ya’ll for taking me in as a brother. Shoutout to all the coaches. Shoutout to Zone 6. Let’s keep working. Go Bucks!” Egbuka shared with his teammates.

It was said of Egbuka that he comes in early and stays late to get in extra work. Those are the kind of guys you want on your team. We’re looking forward to seeing what this highly-rated young man can do on the football field.

[lawrence-related id=48879,48711,48546]

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

Where is Ohio State football ranked in ESPN’s future top offenses?

ESPN is projecting certain aspects of college football teams’ performances. Next up is the offense, and it has Ohio State among the best.

During the offseason, we’re undoubtedly going to get a lot of rankings and lists to pass the spring and summer doldrums before activity heats up toward the start of a new college football season. We roll our stuff out as well, but ESPN has been taking a look ahead at the next few seasons in its future power rankings pieces by taking into account projected talent because of recruiting, current talent and head coaches. It is specifically designed to look at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Next up is a top 25 ranking of college football offenses (subscription required) over that period put together by Adam Rittenberg. It’s now an offense-driven game; gone are the days of dominating with defense and an adequate offense. Few teams have embraced all the fun of laser light shows and fireworks on the unit responsible for scoring points, and Ohio State is at, or near the top, of that list.

But where did ESPN and Rittenberg rank the Buckeyes? You might be a little surprised — or not. Here’s where OSU falls in future offensive power according to the worldwide leader in sports programming.

NEXT … Future top 25 ESPN ranking of the Ohio State offense

Numbers handed out for new Ohio State football freshmen

Numbers have been assigned for early enrollee Ohio State freshmen football players. See what the newcomers will be wearing on the field.

Spring is in the air on the campus of The Ohio State University, which can only mean that spring football is right around the corner for the Buckeyes. The first practice of the new year happened last Friday and now we know what numbers the new guys will wear.

All in all, there are 15 new recruits who have enrolled early for classes on campus so they can begin their Ohio State football careers. And there are some big names in this class.

The Buckeyes signed several No. 1 ranked players at their position. No. 1 ranked running back TreVeyon Henderson will wear No. 32. The No. 1 ranked receiver in the class, Emeka Egbuka will wear No. 12. The Bucks also signed No. 1 rated offensive guard Donovan Jackson, but he was not an early enrollee.

A couple other players of note are defensive end Jack Sawer who will wear No. 33 and quarterback Kyle McCord who will wear No. 14. McCord is expected to compete for the starting QB job vacated by Justin Fields.

Here’s a list of all the rookies and the numbers they will wear heading into spring.

10 — Jayden Ballard, wide receiver

12 — Emeka Egbuka, wide receiver

14 — Kyle McCord, quarterback

18 — Marvin Harrison, wide receiver

21 — Evan Pryor, running back

24 — Jantzen Dunn, safety

28 — Reid Carrico, linebacker

29 — Denzel Burke, cornerback

29 — Jesse Mirco, punter

32 — TreVeyon Henderson, running back

33 — Jack Sawyer, defensive end

65 — Zen Michalski, offensive line

71 — Ben Christman, offensive line

81 — Sam Hart, tight end

91 — Tyleik Williams, defensive tackle

[listicle id=44855]

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

What the commitment of Emeka Egbuka means for Ohio State

Ohio State recruiting continues to be on fire. Here’s what the commitment of the best receiver in the 2021 class means for the Buckeyes.

The No. 1 receiver in the class of 2021, Emeka Egbuka, has committed to Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Egbuka has long been crystal balled for Ohio State and the top-rated receiver made it official on Friday evening.

Egbuka took an official visit to Oklahoma recently, which led some to believe that Ohio State’s crystal ball was starting to look a little cloudy. But even after the visit to Norman, the recruiting gurus still felt confident that he’d ultimately pick the Buckeyes.

This is another big win for Ryan Day and especially wide receiver position coach, Brian Hartline. Hartline has been nabbing some of the nation’s best talent at the receiver position over the past several years. This marks two years in a row that the No. 1 rated receiver has picked Columbus to call home. Ohio State freshmen, Julian Flemming was the No. 1 receiver in the 2020 class.

It feels like Ohio State is becoming wide receiver U. Egbuka gives the Buckeyes another receiver who should be able to contribute right away. Chris Olave will most likely leave for the NFL after this season, but the cupboard will be anything but bare.

Egbuka will join the likes of Flemming, Garrett Wilson, Jackson Smith-Njigba, as well as fellow Washington state native, Gee Scott Jr. That is an absolute embarrassment of riches at the wideout position. And it doesn’t even count the verbal commitment Ohio State received from the nation’s top-rated 2022 receiver, Caleb Burton.

When you combine the talent at wide receiver along with the four and five-star quarterback prospects coming to Columbus, the Buckeye’s could be onto something special. The days of three yards and a cloud of dust at Ohio State are long gone. Woody is probably rolling over in his grave knowing OSU is becoming one of college football’s premier air attacks… but it might just be to get a better view of the action.

 

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

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Buckeyes Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

Ohio State’s top target, class of 2021’s top WR Emeka Egbuka sets decision date

Ohio State’s biggest remaining offensive target, five-star 2021 receiver Emeka Egbuka, has announced his decision date. Where will he go?

After a nearly two-year courtship, Ohio State finally knows when its top remaining offensive target, five-star wide receiver Emeka Ebuka, will be announcing his college choice.

According to an announcement 247Sports’ class of 2021’s top receiver made on his Twitter account, he’ll be letting the college football world know where he plans to play his college ball on Friday, Dec. 11 at 5 p.m. PST. Yep, that’s right, just two days from now.

So where will the 6-foot, 1-inch, 190-pound freak of an athlete go? Well, if you’ve been following his recruitment, you know that his final three boils down to his home state school of Washington, Ohio State, and Oklahoma. The relationships he has build with Ryan Day and Brian Hartline are well-chronicled, and the Buckeyes were thought to be the leaders to land his services, but a recent trip to Oklahoma could weigh heavily in his decision.

Egbuka has said all along he wouldn’t make a decision until he could visit Lincoln Riley and the Sooners, and that took place just this past weekend. While there, he hung out with five star QB Caleb Burton and reportedly started a bit of a bromance, but whether or not it’s enough for Oklahoma to come in with a late steal remains to be seen.

A couple of weeks ago, I would have said this is a slam dunk for Ohio State, but now it’s a little more up in the air. Most Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports still have him coming to Ohio State, but at this point, we’ll just have to wait and see what gear he pulls out Friday.

Oklahoma 5-Star QB commit Caleb Williams talks hosting 5-Star WR Emeka Egbuka

Oklahoma quarterback commit Caleb Williams wrote about his relationship with 5-Star WR Emeka Egbuka in his weekly blog.

Oklahoma won their sixth straight game Saturday night in a 27-14 victory over Baylor in the home finale of the season. The win clinched the Sooners a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game against Iowa State set for Dec. 19th.

In attendance at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium were a couple of Oklahoma recruiting targets along with some signees. One of those targets, Emeka Egbuka, is rated as the top receiver in the country for the class of 2021 according to Rivals.

Highly-touted Sooner quarterback commit Caleb Williams was also in attendance Saturday night, and had this to say about Egbuka in his weekly blog:

“I spent time with Emeka, throwing probably for an hour,” Williams wrote. “I went on Instagram live for a little bit and then I took some videos of me and him throwing. He’s a really smooth receiver, like really smooth. He’s also a smart receiver. An understanding receiver. He understands what his QB wants, which is always good. So our connection, when we first started throwing, it was pretty easy to throw to him. Just understanding where the QB wants you — when that happens you normally get the ball way more than usual. He understood his routes, where I wanted him and like I said he ran really smooth routes and has really good hands.”

“It was fun throwing with him, we had a connection in the sense of on the field and off the field. We went and got some food, drove around the campus and we just kinda hung out, joked around and things like that — things you do as 18 and 19-year olds — chillin’ out, joking around other than school and working out. So that’s what we did. It was an off the field connection, too. We were in the car like we already knew each other in a sense. That doesn’t happen too often. You don’t always find somebody and connect as if you feel you’ve known him forever. I feel like I’ve known him forever and I feel like I’ve been throwing with him forever, too. It was awesome. I was super happy he got down here, we got some work in and he could finally see OU.”

Oklahoma fans will be happy to hear Williams and Egbuka are forming a connection in hopes to pair him with the second-ranked receiver in the class of 2021 Mario Williams who committed back in May.

[vertical-gallery id=21231]

Oklahoma football recruiting: No. 1 class of 2021 WR Emeka Egbuka will reportedly visit OU

Oklahoma loves five-star wide receivers. OU brought in three of them in the 2019 class in Jadon Haselwood, Trejan Bridges and Theo Wease.

Oklahoma loves five-star wide receivers.

The Sooners brought in three of them in the 2019 class in Jadon Haselwood, Trejan Bridges and Theo Wease. Oklahoma has one committed in 2021 wide receiver Mario Williams and the Sooners are in the mix for another.

One that will reportedly be visiting Oklahoma this weekend.

It was a bit of a surprise at the time whenever Emeka Egbuka included the Sooners in his final group of Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington. The Steilacoom, Washington, native had never visited the Sooners and it seemed Oklahoma hadn’t been after him all that hard.

Then things changed whenever it appeared Caleb Williams was heading to Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners push was on.

And now? Egbuka will visit Oklahoma this weekend for the Baylor game according to reports from The Football Brainiacs and 247Sports.

Williams hinted at recruits visiting this weekend for the Baylor game in his weekly blog. Egbuka would certainly fit that billing as a major visitor.

He is considered a five-star recruit according to Rivals. Egbuka is considered the 11th best recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, the No. 1 overall wide receiver and No. 2 player out of the state of Washington.

The Sooners currently have 15 commitments in the 2021 recruiting class and the class is ranked 14th in the country on Rivals.

[vertical-gallery id=20861]

Nation’s No. 1 receiver Emeka Egbuka down to three schools, will visit Oklahoma before making decision

The class of 2021’s top WR, Emeka Egbuka, has eliminated one school but still has Ohio State in the running with visit to Oklahoma planned.

There are two big, big fish out there Ohio State is hoping to land to cap off a fantastic 2021 recruiting class. One of them is the No. 2 overall prospect in the class, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, out of Eastside Catholic in Sammamish, WA, and the other is another five-star prospect, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka out of Steilacoom, WA.

It’s the latter that broke down the latest with the status of his recruitment to Brandon Huffman of 247Sports.

And while no decision has been made, it appears as though Egbuka is getting closer. He originally communicated a final four of Ohio State, Oklahoma, Washington, and Clemson in May, but he now says the race is down to three schools.

“It’s more like a top three,” Egbuka told 247Sports. “Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington. I haven’t talked to Clemson in a long time, so it’s really just those three schools.”

And while most Crystal Ball picks have Egbuka as a heavy Ohio State lean, it’s not that simple because the 6-foot, 1-inch, 190-pounder really wants to make a visit to Oklahoma, the only one of the three he has yet to get to because of the recruiting dead period imposed by the NCAA.

“I kind of figured that I’d have to visit Oklahoma by my own means, since it’s the only place I haven’t been,” said Egbuka. “I figured I’d go with my dad or go with my mom and check out Norman and see what it’s about. So that hasn’t changed that aspect. My dad and I have some airline points to redeem since we had to cancel before so I’ll probably do that at some point.”

Egbuka talks to the Ohio State coaches and even some players often, but he’s clear that a decision won’t be made until he can get to see what Oklahoma is all about.

“I’m pretty sure that by the time I make a decision, I’ll have taken a visit to Oklahoma,” said Egbuka. “I won’t have made a decision on any school without seeing them.”

It sounds like December is the timeframe the talented receiver is looking at, but that all depends on several factors and could lead Egbuka to wait until the traditional February signing period.

“I kind of have a timeline in my head, but nothing official,” said Egbuka. “A lot of it is based on my high school, how many games we’ll play, when we play, if we play at all. If we don’t end up playing, then I’ll look to enroll early. My plan right now is that I will sign in December, but I guess it’s possible I could wait till February. I think by that time, we’ll have most of the details on a season, if we have a season or a small amount of games.”

So for now we’ll just keep our eye on where things stand. Ohio State fans should feel pretty confident that the Buckeye program is first on the list right now, but that comes with the understanding that Oklahoma could catapult in the lead should he be blown away by any visit he makes to Norman.

Also: 2021 recruiting commitment tracker

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

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Buckeyes Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

 

Ohio State recruiting: Crystal ball sees top players coming to Columbus

Two of the top ten rated players in the country could be headed to Columbus as commitments to Ohio State football’s 2021 class.

The Ohio State football program already has one of the top-ranked recruiting classes in the nation. With five-star names like Jack Sawyer, TreVeyon Henderson, and Kyle McCord, 247Sports has the Buckeyes ranked as the No. 2 class in the nation just behind Alabama for the 2021 class. However, the Buckeyes could leapfrog the Crimson Tide if crystal ball projections hold true.

The 2021 recruiting cycle is winding down with only a few big names left on the board. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day already has commitments from 20 of the nations best but has room for a few more.

Ohio State is going west to Washington once again after picking up one of the top receivers in the country last year in Gee Scott Jr. The Bucks will again head to the Evergreen State and try to land the nation’s No. 2 strong-side defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau and No. 1 receiver Emeka Egbuka. According to 247 Sports, OSU is looking good to land the services of both.

J.T. Tuimoloau is not only the second-rated defensive end in the country, but the No. 2 rated player overall. 247Sports says Tuimoloau is an extremely versatile and athletic player who can play the edge or possibly move inside as his body matures. He has been compared to former Ohio State and current Pittsburg Steeler defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, and is projected as a top ten NFL draft talent. Crystal ball projection is 92% in favor of Ohio State.

Emeka Egbuka is another amazing talent at wide receiver and should the Buckeyes get his commitment, it would make the second year in a row that Ohio State has landed the top-rated receiver in the country. Egbuka is a big, physical receiver with top-end speed who can also handle kick-off and punt return duties. 247Sports compares him to JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburg Steelers and has the Buckeyes at 89% according to their crystal ball prediction. Egbuka is the No. 8 ranked player in the nation.

With the early signing period just weeks away, we should know soon if the crystal ball projections hold up. It certainly looks like Ohio State is trending in the right direction as the 2021 class is shaping up to be one of the best in Ohio State football history.

Also: 2021 recruiting commitment tracker

[listicle id=36587]

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

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Buckeyes Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.