COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Emeka Egbuka has more than proven himself as a steady returner for the Ohio State football team, whether that’s on punts or kickoffs, which made what happened Saturday against Rutgers so weird.
The sure-handed wide receiver muffed the first punt of the game, delaying the offense’s first drive and setting the Scarlet Knights up to score their only touchdown.
“That’s not good when you turn the ball over the first punt of the game,” head coach Ryan Day said. “He’s been reliable for us, and he’ll continue to be reliable for us, but I know he wished he had that play back. Nobody wanted to make the play more than Emeka Egbuka. Nobody cares more than him.”
The muffed punt was a result of Adam Korsak punting it over Egbuka’s head, sending him backward to make a catch over his shoulder. That’s become a constant theme on special teams for the Buckeyes. Often they’ve lined up Egbuka closer to the line of scrimmage, and he’s watched balls sail over his head and he’s fielded them. Until Saturday, it wasn’t a problem, and even after the mistake OSU still won’t make a big deal out of it.
One might think the simple solution to this is just moving him back a few yards when he takes the field. But there is a method to why they don’t do that. They’d rather have him run backward to field a punt than have one land in front of him, giving a team the chance to flip the field.
“The tough thing about moving him back is on that field — because it’s not grass — when it bounces and rolls, it rolls forever,” Day said. “It can cost you 30, 40 yards. Trying to find that sweet spot is difficult.”
Day detailed that part of the problem was the way the wind often carried the ball. Through Ohio Stadium, the wind was blowing south, but down on the field, it was going every which way, making it difficult to track it in the air.
“Sometimes to try to get an idea of where that wind is taking the ball or holding the ball up is a little bit of a challenge, and we try to do the best we can out there,” Day said. “There’s a little bit of a feel to it. Obviously, that one got us, but he’s also done a good job of making sure it catches those because if you go too far back and it takes that big hop and rolls 30 yards, that’s three first downs.
“We try to find that spot in there, and sometimes you do better than others.”
The solution to this problem is just more reps in a variety of different environments. That means catching wet balls and working on fielding punts on days when the weather presents a windy environment, ensuring Egbuka’s mistake is a one-time issue. No one is worried about it being anything more than that.
“We have all the confidence in the world that he’ll he’ll catch the ball when it’s in the air,” Day said.
What else did we learn from Day?
• The sheer volume of red-zone plays against Rutgers allowed them to pull out some plays they hadn’t practiced in a couple of weeks.
• How many plays in OSU’s playbook are “Jaxon Smith-Njigba plays?” “A lot.” They’ve has been forced to try some different packages, or at least use them more than originally planned. The offense is more versatile now, and learned some things about tight ends, young receivers and the offensive line.
• Running backs coach Tony Alford liked Miyan Williams as a high school recruit, but OSU’s interest picked up after Kevin Wilson watched him play live. “We saw something in a kid from Cincinnati who played hard.”
• Williams has “lost some people in his life” over the past year and worked through it. “It’s not easy for these guys when they go through things and give him credit for that.” Different parts of his personality have blossomed at OSU. Football-wise, his vision, pass pro, awareness of game and football IQ have all improved.
• He’s happy with the transition Paris Johnson Jr.’s made back to tackle, but “the real challenges are coming.”
• On stealing touchdowns for C.J. Stroud when up by a lot of points, for Heisman considerations: “You can’t go down that road.” Understands why that is a factor. “We have to take what the defensive is giving us and look for that balance.”
• On Michigan State: “We know we’ve got our hands full this week.”
• On Spartans’ defensive front: “They try to create chaos in the backfield. Have added some new players up front.”
• Coaches bring up the option of moving positions, but the player makes the decisions. “If you forced someone to change positions, it doesn’t work.”
• Singled out Ronnie Hickman, Luke Wypler, Dawand Jones, Tommy Eichenberg, Zach Harrison, Julian Fleming, Cade Stover, Xavier Johnson, Egbuka and Stroud as guys who have stepped up as leaders this season.
• On Cameron Brown’s injury: “I’ve felt an urgency from him the past week. He’s dying to get back on the field.” They hope to get him and Smith-Njigba back this week.
• Jordan Hancock has been practicing at full speed, but the plan is to get through the off-week before evaluating if he can play or not.
• As he walked into the Blackwell on Saturday before the game, someone said, “Good luck today, 63-0, right?” Day joked he was worried about getting that first, first down: “It’s a good thing. It’s the pride everybody has in our program. It’s the hard work of everybody here that expectations are so high, and that’s part of the job.
• Hard to say for sure if Name, Image and Likeness is a net positive or net negative without more concrete rules. But has definitely benefited players.
• On Denzel Burke: “We certainly believe in him.” Said he made a good decision to have a procedure on hand mid-season. His footwork and coverage ability are still good, he just “has to work on finishing at the point of attack.”
What else did we learn from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles?
• Part of why Kourt Williams hasn’t had much of a role is because “he’s not completely healthy.”
• Saw that Ohio State’s defense was ranked 11th in third-down efficiency, which he’s not satisfied with: “We have bigger aspirations than that.”
• He’s pleased with what he’s seen from the defensive line over the first five games.
• Eichenberg has picked things up quicker than anyone he’s every worked with. Also admitted that the way he is with the media is the same way he is behind the scenes: “What you see is what you get. He’s clipped with me, too. There’s grunts.”
• On Burke’s injury: “A hand injury for a corner is a big deal” because they’re always jamming receivers or reaching up for passes.
• Likes JK Johnson’s aggressiveness the most: “His reach, impact in press coverage and competition at the end of a route, those are things where JK excels.” Also likes how he “throws punches” at the line of scrimmage.
• Kye Stokes had a “solid game.” Had not taken many nickel reps. Had to make the adjustment mid-week
• Was told by David Cutcliffe at Duke that a “good carpenter never blames his tools.” Where he started saying it was his fault when the defense makes mistakes. “I’ll stay on them pretty hard during the week, but on game day, I’ll let them play.”
• Steele Chambers is a “full linebacker.” Seeing improvement in his tackling. Low pad level, single-leg takedowns and roll tackling.
• Called it “satisfying” when a call and execution comes together such as Chambers’ interception off Harrison’s tipped pass.
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