DALLAS — When Marvin Harrison Jr. declared for the NFL Draft, it cleared the way for Emeka Egbuka to take over as the new No. 1 receiver in Columbus, perhaps even in the sport. Egbuka, a former 5-star signee, had scored 14 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior seasons and turned down a high draft slot to return for his senior season. It was his moment.
That is, until a 6-foot-4 freshman phenom named Jeremiah Smith arrived on campus and stole all the headlines. Smith is the breakout star of the College Football Playoff, the one getting mobbed in the team hotel or leading highlight tapes. Egbuka put together another nice season and has a chance to break K.J. Hill’s career receptions record. Still, his name probably will never be mentioned among the best in Ohio State’s wide receiver lineage.
Egbuka will be remembered as a Robin, first to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, then to Marvin Harrison Jr. and finally to Smith. He would be the No. 1 receiver on any team remaining, and arguably on any other team in college football. He couldn’t care less.
“It’s not difficult at all,” Egbuka said. “I think that I do exactly what my team’s asking of me and I’ve always done that. Whether I see success in football or not, that’s not what I hang my hat on at the end of the day.”
Here’s the thing: He believes it. Egbuka was the No. 1 receiver in the Class of 2021 and posted 74 catches as a sophomore. A year later, he dropped to 47 catches. Far worse players have used it as an excuse to transfer or chase money. While Egbuka is certainly compensated well, there was never a rumor of leaving for more targets.
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly saw it when he came to campus, only arriving in February after most of the roster was set. Egbuka sets the tone. If Emeka Egbuka can accept his role without complaining, who else has the right to complain?
“It comes from the older guys here,” Kelly said. “It’s not about individual stats, that’s not what they’re looking to do. They’re looking to leave a mark on this place and you do that by winning championships. You don’t do that by accumulating stats.”
Across the roster, there are similar stories.
In the backfield, Ohio State recruited transfer quarterback Will Howard over Devin Brown.
At running back, Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins took numerous carries from former All-American TreVeyon Henderson.
Cornerback Denzel Burke was supposed to be the face of the secondary. Safety Caleb Downs stole his thunder after transferring from Alabama.
Few have looked to the transfer portal or worried about their own draft stock. There’s never conflict. There’s never misunderstanding. There’s never egos.
“You have a lot of kids who are very highly recruited and have been told for a long time how good they are,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “And yet they still remain very humble and great team players. They’re really a pleasure to coach. I think it’s extremely unique that they don’t get caught up in their own egos and put everything aside for the team.”
Thanks to the upperclassman leadership, numerous players turned down top NFL Draft grades to return for another year of eligibility. Several accepted smaller or diminished roles, reduced stats and less highlights. Kelly pointed to Henderson, a former five-star, who dropped from 15 carries a game as a junior to nine as a senior.
“He was extremely excited when Q was coming in,” Kelly said. “There wasn’t a selfish bone in his body about bringing in another running back. He knew it would be beneficial to him. You look at how fresh Tre is right now. I don’t know if there’s a better running back playing in these final four than what he’s done.”
That same theme extends across the roster. Defensive end Jack Sawyer has played his best football in the CFP. So has Smith. As has Henderson. When coach Ryan Day aggressively courted his roster to return in 2024, building this depth was the dream. With two games to go, the roster of willing Robins is on the cusp of winning an elusive national championship.
“When culture is strong through the leaders, it permeates throughout the rest of the team,” Egbuka said. “When you see it from the top down to the younger guys, it speaks volumes and reflects the character of the leaders.”
Defensive back Jordan Hancock was a top-50 national recruit out of Georgia when he signed with Ohio State in the Class of 2021. He spent three full years on campus before winning the full-time starting job at cornerback.
“We feel like this is the best culture in college football,” Hancock said. “We build our culture on fight and fighting to be the best version of ourselves every day. The Block O means everything to us and we’ve got to leave here with some hardware to show for it.
“That’s what our motto is: We’ve been through so much, we’ve gotta show something for our hard work.”
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