Egbuka has big day; Williams is out again
Freshman wide receiver Emeka Egbuka fielded a kickoff inside the 5-yard line and sprang across the Ohio Stadium turf.
It was midway through the second quarter of Ohio State’s 66-17 rout of Maryland on Saturday afternoon when he burst to the other side of the field.
Aided by a block, he outran several Terrapins players before reaching the sideline and continuing to glide.
At one point, it looked as if Egbuka might become the first Buckeye since Jordan Hall in 2010 to return a kickoff for a touchdown. But he was ultimately knocked out of bounds at Maryland’s 29-yard line.
The return gave Ohio State’s offense favorable field position, and it put up a touchdown two plays later when quarterback C.J. Stroud found Treveyon
Henderson on a backside swing pass to continue a scoring onslaught, but it was also a part of Egbuka’s prolific performance. In returning four kickoffs for 166 yards, he finished with the second-most kickoff return yardage ever by an Ohio State player, trailing only running back Carlos Snow, who had 213 total kickoff return yards in a loss at Pittsburgh in 1988.
During the Buckeyes’ previous five games, Egbuka had returned four kickoffs for a total of 109 yards, but he showed flashes of explosiveness that gave coach Ryan Day the belief that Egbuka could bring some returns out a long way.
Speaking with reporters two days before Saturday’s game, Day raised the possibility.
“Our guys believe he can take it,” Day said. “He’s been close a couple of times. He hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities. But the next time he gets a chance to take it out, he’s got a chance for an explosive.”
Along with his 67-yard return during the second quarter, Egbuka also returned one for 46 yards late in the third quarter that was his second-longest return.
h Continued absence for Miyan Williams: Running back Miyan Williams missed his second straight game for undisclosed reasons and was not seen on the sideline during the afternoon.
During the second quarter, he tweeted, “I’m good I’ll be back soon.”
Williams began the season as the Buckeyes’ starter and combined for 202 rushing yards and one touchdown during the first two games against Minnesota and Oregon before seeing his workload drop off in the following weeks.
He didn’t carry the ball in a win over Tulsa on Sept. 18 and rushed for 47 yards on nine attempts against Akron on Sept. 25 in his last appearance.
h Tyreke Smith still sidelined:
Starting defensive end Tyreke Smith appeared close to making his return against Maryland.
After being held out of the last two games, Smith was listed as a game-time decision on the Buckeyes’ pregame availability report, emerged from the locker room in uniform and warmed up before kickoff. But he remained unavailable and did not see the field.
Javontae Jean-baptise started at his defensive spot opposite Zach Harrison after freshman J.T. Tuimoloau had gotten the start in place of Smith in previous weeks.
h Homecoming crowd: Ohio Stadium’s announced crowd of 99,277 marked the smallest for a homecoming game at Ohio State in two decades.
Hosting Minnesota in 2000, the Buckeyes saw 98,120 squeeze into the stands, but had drawn at least 100,000 for homecoming games in all of the following years amid the stadium’s expansion.