Emeka Egbuka: Ohio State Buckeyes football team prankster, touchdown-maker

Egbuka, 5-star Washington high school football product, recorded first collegiate three-touchdown game against Iowa on Saturday

Oct 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) celebrates a touchdown during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 35-7. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The always-thinking Emeka Egbuka plays chess when others are consumed by checkers.

Remember his commitment prank on Ohio State football coach Ryan Day back in 2020 while still at Steilacoom High School (WA)? On his FaceTime call with Buckeyes' coaches, he purposely was wearing another college team's sweatshirt in breaking the news where he was going to sign - only to pull it off to show them his allegiance to the Buckeyes.

"I like to have fun with it," he said to SBLive WA back in 2020.

Even back then, he had a plan on not only how to get to the NFL, but become a first-round draft pick - and ultimately into the Pro Hall of Fame.

In a handful of recently-released NFL mock drafts, Egbuka is slotted as a late-first round draft selection.

In the meantime, Egbuka has picked up his touchdown-catching pace, scoring in Ohio State's past three games, including his first career three-touchdown game Saturday against Iowa.

He caught scoring passes from Will Howard of 14 yards in the first quarter, 15 yards in the third quarter and 3 yards in the fourth quarter in a 35-7 win. He finished with a game-high nine receptions for 71 yards.

"It was awesome, man," Egbuka told reporters after the game. "Shout-out to coach (Chip) Kelly for calling the plays. We just try and execute what our coaches need. It's an 11-man effort."

Here are some past SBLive WA articles about Egbuka:

* EGBUKA HAVING FUN MAKING COLLEGE CHOICE

* VIDEO: EGBUKA EXPLAINS ANNOUNCEMENT PRANK ON DAY