Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State recovered from his injury and was prepared to play for the Buckeyes.

The Ohio State wide receiver would have healed from his injury sooner if it were up to Emeka Egbuka. Even after suffering a lower leg injury against Maryland early in the previous month, Egbuka battled to continue playing.

This week, Egbuka stated, “I’m sure you guys saw, I got hurt and then I was limping over to the sideline.” I became aware that I was unable to run, but I was unsure of why. And my coach was like, “Just get down.” Climb down. I tried to rewarm the tent after taking a brief nap and going inside. I mean, I was attempting to re-enter the scene. I was unable to do so at the moment.

After the game, Egbuka hobbled off the field but assured his teammates he would be alright as he went through the tunnel at Ohio Stadium. However, Egbuka was unavailable the following week, which was unfortunate.

Egbuka stated, “I won’t lie, it kind of sucked.” “I also had my birthday during the Purdue game. Thus, a great deal of activity is occurring.

Egbuka would have made a comeback against Maryland if he had been able to, but that was not in the cards. For the first time in his career, at any level, the receiver was forced to watch his teammates play from the sidelines.

Egbuka had to watch that game from home because he was unable to travel to West Lafayette. When Penn State visited the Horseshoe the following week, he changed his goal to return. Egbuka was itching to take on the Nittany Lions in a top-10 match.

The receiver declared, “In the end, I’m going to want to play every Saturday and I’m sure you got something out there (for) Penn State.”

Egbuka prepared for the game by doing everything he could during the week leading up to it. He received therapy and rehab at the Dylan Hayes Athletic Center from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Throughout the week, he worked out and used the float pool. He made sure it was ready by watching a lot of movies.

Egbuka worked out on the Ohio Stadium turf prior to the arrival of the rest of his teammates. He needed to demonstrate that he could run and stop at top speed. But it wasn’t written in the stars. The Nittany Lions did not feature Egbuka in their lineup.

Wanting to be a good teammate, Egbuka watched the Penn State game from the sidelines, but he made it known that he was available if the Buckeyes needed him. To the best of his abilities, he helped coach the other receivers and brought energy to the game.

Marvin Harrison Jr. filled in against the Nittany Lions. It was a crucial 20-12 victory, and there was confidence in the Scarlet and Gray’s other wide receivers to step up after Egbuka’s receiver classmate caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.

“Carnell Tate and Xavier Johnson are nothing short of amazing players who are more than capable of stepping in and having a huge impact,” Egbuka stated. “They’ve done a great job over this last month and they’re going to continue to do a great job,” the coach, Brian Hartline, felt in the end. They play a unique role in this offense, and we will involve them in every way possible.

Wisconsin hosted Ohio State a week later. Even though Egbuka was available for the game, he did not participate. Harrison showed his mettle once more, hauling in six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Finally, against Rutgers, last week, Egbuka returned to action. With four receptions for 29 yards, Egbuka had a modest statistical day.

The receiver holds himself to a high standard and thinks he should perform at his best when on the field, as he did during the second part of the previous campaign. Egbuka refused to say he was ramping back up at SHI Stadium, even though he wasn’t making any excuses. Ohio State’s receivers were all kept in check.

Regarding his performance, Egbuka remarked, “I mean, there’s a lot of components that go into that.” Rutgers spent the entire day seated in Cover-2, to start. With 29 yards, I was one of the top receivers. That’s one aspect of it. However, even though we might not have received the production in and of itself, I thought that my routes were there. I had the feeling that I could play the game to the best of my ability.

Egbuka was just relieved to be back on the field last weekend after missing three games.

Regarding Egbuka, head coach Ryan Day remarked, “That was the first time he’s been back in, and that was good.” “We need to get back to where we were when he was a key member of the offense, so he needs to have another full week of practice.”

The previous season, Egbuka proved his worth. Despite Harrison’s breakout season casting some shadows over him, Egbuka finished with over 1,000 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. This season, Egbuka has once again shown glimpses of that potential, most notably in the 94-yard, one-touchdown performance he had against Notre Dame, which helped set up the game-winning touchdown.

The Buckeyes need Egbuka to regain his footing over the next few weeks. The Scarlet and Gray travel to Ann Arbor for the rivalry game at Michigan following their home games against Minnesota the following week and Michigan State on Saturday. In order to defeat the Wolverines, Ohio State will need Egbuka and the rest of the offense to perform at their peak.

Egbuka is confident that he will be, and even though this injury has been frustrating, it has improved him.

“I’m thankful for my current situation,” the recipient uttered. Because you have a different role, I was able to support my team in a way that I hadn’t before, and I learned a lot from this experience. It is your responsibility to guide and assist the younger guys so they are prepared for that eventuality. Thus, to sum up, I’ve learned a lot. I am so appreciative of this time. I’m happy to be back playing and happy to be here. One of my passions—possibly my greatest passion—is football. Thus, it truly puts a lot of things into context.