Ohio State got great news on Thursday afternoon when star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka announced he's going to play 1 more year for the Buckeyes, foregoing the 2024 NFL Draft.
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00:00 We'll continue to talk about Marvin along the way here,
00:02 but let's switch gears for just a minute back to Ameka Igbuka.
00:07 This is a young man that was--
00:10 first of all, he was the highest rated wide receiver
00:12 in the country in his recruiting class.
00:15 Took a little while to get him to full blown commit
00:20 to coming to Columbus, but he was just another in line
00:26 of these really high talented guys that chose,
00:30 what I'm going to trust in Brian Hartline
00:32 and in the process here, falling in love
00:34 with what it's going to take for me to become an elite level
00:38 professional receiver.
00:39 And I think Ameka Igbuka has all of the tools to do that.
00:45 I almost wonder if Ohio State is a little bit lucky
00:48 that he's coming back because, personal opinion,
00:51 if he had an entirely healthy season,
00:54 I wonder if this is still the case.
00:56 But I am prone to believe that maybe Ameka wants to come back,
01:03 show that he can continue to put this together when he's fully
01:07 healthy, and put together just a little bit more on tape.
01:11 Because I think he's a guaranteed second day pick
01:15 if he goes this year.
01:17 But he's got the talent, and he's
01:19 going to have an opportunity next year
01:20 to showcase that he could be a first round draft pick,
01:22 I think.
01:23 For all the positive stuff we've said about Marvin Harrison,
01:26 Ameka Igbuka was kind of in that shadow,
01:29 whether he was battling with injury
01:30 or just being the number two to Marvin Harrison Jr.
01:33 Where it's like, hey, Marvin's an unbelievable player,
01:36 generational talent, and you're just kind of behind him.
01:39 So now when he comes back, he's going
01:40 to have that opportunity to be the guy.
01:43 It's going to be, hey, third and eight, we're not throwing it.
01:46 It's not where's Marvin, it's going to be where's Ameka.
01:48 Or it's going to be in the red zone, where's Ameka.
01:50 He's going to be the guy, and he's
01:52 going to have a great opportunity
01:53 to just absolutely take off like a rocket ship, man,
01:56 and just have a great year.
01:57 And it's so good, in my opinion, for a number of reasons.
02:00 But it's so good that he's coming back for himself
02:03 and for the Ohio State team as a whole.
02:05 Yeah, I think that room, given that each of the last two
02:11 years now, Brian Hartline has lost two guys
02:15 after their first year, that room needs a little leadership.
02:19 And Julian Fleming decides to transfer, and that's fine.
02:23 Wish Julian the best for sure.
02:25 He's going to play well for Penn State, I think.
02:29 If you lose Cade Stover on the offensive side of the ball,
02:33 you've obviously got a new quarterback,
02:35 so somebody's got to fill that void.
02:36 Is it Devin Brown?
02:37 Is it Lincoln Kienholz?
02:39 Is it Will Howard who comes in?
02:41 But specifically in that receiver room,
02:44 Ameka's presence and proof the results there,
02:49 I think, carry a lot of weight, especially, frankly,
02:52 for somebody like Jeremiah Smith, who
02:55 is just as highly thought of, if not even more so,
03:00 than Ameka was.
03:01 Same accolades, right?
03:03 Number one receiver in the country.
03:05 Jeremiah is the number one recruit in the country,
03:07 according to a couple of services.
03:08 So having somebody that he can be with all the time,
03:13 day in, day out, he saw what Marvin did from afar
03:17 and the work ethic, and now the combination of Brian Hartline
03:21 and Ameka Ibuka, hopefully, the tutelage they can provide,
03:25 I think, is really valuable.
03:27 I mean, even stretch that out past Marvin Harrison, right?
03:30 He's been in a room with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave
03:32 and Jackson Smith and Digby.
03:34 All these guys who are now pros, I mean,
03:37 you could really say that Ameka knows what it takes to be a pro,
03:39 and it's perfect for all these young guys.
03:42 Literally, they should be following Ameka Ibuka
03:44 like a shadow.
03:45 Whatever he does, we're doing, because Ameka knows it.
03:47 He's seen it.
03:48 He's seen the proof of it.
03:49 He knows the work that it's going to take.
03:51 And it's going to be a big year for this offense.
03:53 Like, truth be told, we talked yesterday about the defense
03:57 kind of loading up, and all of these things are great.
03:59 But if this offense can't figure it out and get it rolling,
04:02 all of that goes to waste.
04:03 And it's going to start with having--
04:05 Ameka coming back is so big for that reason,
04:07 because his experience is everything
04:09 that we just talked about.
04:10 It's going to be huge for this offense
04:11 to really kick it into high gear next year
04:13 and be the reason that this team can kind of get over that hump
04:17 that they have been unable to do so for the past couple of years.
04:20 Look, I know the lasting taste in Ohio State fans' mouths
04:25 is not a good one, because the cotton ball was pretty ugly.
04:28 But after watching Michigan win the national championship
04:31 and knowing just how close you were to beating Michigan,
04:34 it's like that reassuring feeling of,
04:37 you are not that far away.
04:39 There's no reason that it couldn't
04:42 have been the Buckeyes this year instead of Michigan
04:44 or anybody else.
04:46 So no need to overreact and tear this thing down to the studs.
04:51 And the reality is, from a career accomplishment
04:55 standpoint from Ameka, Ohio State's never
04:58 had a 3,000-yard receiver in terms of their career
05:02 statistics.
05:04 If Ameka has a little over 1,000 yards next year,
05:07 that's very possible for him.
05:10 And look, if he can stay healthy,
05:12 if he's going to be on the field all the time,
05:14 I could absolutely see where that could happen.
05:17 And that'd be pretty cool for him.
05:18 It'd be amazing.
05:19 Think about all the receivers that
05:21 have come through this Ohio State program.
05:24 And for Ameka to be one to have the chance
05:26 to get over that 3,000-yard mark could be just amazing for him.
05:29 And you're happy for the kid.
05:30 You're happy for him as a person.
05:32 Hey, he's got a chance to improve his draft stock.
05:34 He could be a day--
05:35 maybe late day one, day two pick this year.
05:38 But hey, if he comes out next year and has a great year,
05:40 not only could he set the records at Ohio State,
05:42 but he could also really improve his stock
05:44 and, truthfully, his life and really jump up
05:47 that draft board a little bit.
05:48 I think it's a great decision for all parties involved.
05:52 So I'm really happy about it.