Emeka Egbuka assesses Ohio State's sense of urgency entering 2024 season

After a third straight year of losing to Michigan, the pressure is ratcheting up on Ohio State coach Ryan Day, despite the fact that he’s won a slew of games over the last five years.

Such is life when you lose to the Wolverines.

But despite that, at least one prominent Buckeyes starter doesn’t believe there’s necessarily added pressure going into the 2024 season. Or, at the very least, there isn’t an added sense of urgency because of the recent run of ineptitude against the team’s biggest rival.

“I would say every year you go into it laser-focused,” receiver Emeka Egbuka said at Big Ten Media Days. “Some years you just don’t have everything, all the pieces fall in line. So I wouldn’t say it’s a heightened sense of urgency. We have the same urgency we have every single year.”

That’s certainly a reasonable approach from the standout receiver. In part, it keeps Ohio State from overly focusing on a game that won’t be played until the end of the 2024 season.

Instead, the focus can remain on improving every single day. Take things one game at a time and see where the chips fall.

Day, for his part, though, does see an added pep in the step from his guys. They’ve shown a great attention to detail and are putting in the work to make sure they can flip the script in the key Ohio State rivalry.

“Yeah, I would say they’ve done that and some. There’s a great energy around this team,” Day said at Big Ten Media Days. “You know, they know what they want. There’s an urgency, there’s a purpose and they’ve come together. You can just see it.”

That said, it’s a fine sense of balance.

The season is long and there will be many ups and downs. Making sure Ohio State gets through it all is key.

Still, Day is excited for what his guys are cooking up this offseason. Everything else should snap into place if his players just keep taking care of business day by day.

“We don’t want to create distractions for this team. We want them to continue to focus on what matters,” Day said. “But you can just feel it when you’re around the guys, you know. You guys will spend some time with our players. You guys can feel it. It’s real.”