Team prankster and touchdown maker for Ohio State Buckeyes football

The ever-thinking Emeka Egbuka plays chess while others are consumed by checkers.

Remember his engagement prank to Ohio State football coach Ryan Day in 2020 while he was still at Steilacoom High School (WA)? During his FaceTime call with the Buckeyes’ coaches, he intentionally wore another college team’s sweatshirt to let them know where he would be signing – only to then show them his loyalty to the Buckeyes.

“I like to have fun with it,” he told SBLive WA in 2020.

Even then, he had a plan to not only get into the NFL, but also become a first-round draft pick and eventually be inducted into the Pro Hall of Fame.

A handful of recently released NFL mock drafts have Egbuka projected as a late first-round draft pick.

Meanwhile, Egbuka has increased his touchdown-catching pace and scored points in Ohio State’s last three games, including his first three-touchdown game of his career on Saturday against Iowa.

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

“It was great, man,” Egbuka told reporters after the game. “Kudos to Coach (Chip) Kelly for calling the plays. We just try to implement what our coaches need. It’s an 11-man effort.”

Here are some previous SBLive WA articles about Egbuka:

* EGBUKA HAS FUN IN THE COLLEGE CHOICE

* VIDEO: EGBUKA EXPLAINS ANNOUNCEMENT Prank ON THE DAY