COLUMBUS — Through Ohio State’s first four games, true freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith had been the talk of the town —and country — as he put up gaudy numbers in his first action at the college level.

But with a three-touchdown performance on Saturday, senior Emeka Egbuka sent an emphatic reminder to everyone watching that the Buckeyes’ receiver room contains more than one game-breaking talent.

Egbuka led all receivers with nine catches for 71 yards, and his touchdown trifecta marked the first time he’s scored three times in a single game. He is now up to five touchdown catches on the year and has recorded at least one score in three consecutive games.

“It was awesome,” Egbuka said of his big effort. “Shout out to Coach (Chip) Kelly for calling the plays. We’re just trying to execute whatever our coaches call. It’s an 11-man effort. I couldn’t get into the end zone if the offensive line wasn’t blocking, if the running backs weren’t doing their thing, if the other routes weren’t taking away coverage, and if Will (Howard) wasn’t putting it on the money. We’re just trying to have that camaraderie as we go on throughout the season.”

Egbuka said he tries not to pay too much attention to statistics because they “come and go,” but he admitted having a three-touchdown game is something he’s proud to have accomplished. Asked if he had a favorite of the three, Egbuka said he’d have to see them on film but would choose “whichever one looked the coolest.”

After an ankle injury severely hampered his season a year ago, Egbuka is healthy and back in similar form to his 2022 season in which he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark and found the end zone 10 times as a sophomore. And with Smith continuing to draw additional attention from opposing secondaries, Egbuka should see plenty of favorable matchups in the coming weeks.

“I think Emeka is one of the best receivers in the country,” head coach Ryan Day said after the game. “It hurt him last year to have the high ankle sprain, but you think about where he was the year before and what he’s doing now. You see a complete player. He’s a captain of our team. He’s a warrior. He does all the dirty work like he did in the Michigan State game. But then to see him come back and have three touchdown catches, all three of which were contested, was huge … He’s only getting better the more he plays.”

Egbuka will need to pick up the pace a bit if he’s to break it, but his 71 yards on Saturday moved him slightly closer to claiming the program record for career receiving yards set by Michael Jenkins from 2000-03. He now has 433 receiving yards on the season and is 608 yards shy of the record with at least eight more games to play.

And while there are some tough matchups still to come for the Buckeyes, beginning with next week’s showdown at Oregon, Egbuka feels every game is a chance for himself and the Ohio State receiving group to make plenty of plays.

“We look at every week as a favorable matchup no matter who is guarding us,” Egbuka said. “That’s kind of just the mindset Zone 6 has. Obviously, Jeremiah has been doing his thing all season. Carnell Tate didn’t play today, but we have another Z receiver in (Bryson Rodgers), so it’s really hard to defend our offense, especially with the receivers we have.”

It all starts at the top though, and Egbuka is back to solidifying his place as one of the best in the game and perhaps the next first-round draft pick in what’s become an NFL factory at the position for Ohio State.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.