By Jim Naveau

jnaveau@limanews.com

COLUMBUS — Football coaches like to see running backs and receivers get involved in blocking and Ryan Day is no exception.

OSU’s Emeka Egbuka is one of the best receivers in the Big Ten and in college football. He caught 7 passes for 96 yard and had a 33-yard touchdown catch in the Buckeyes’ 38-7 win at Michigan State last Saturday night.

But it was Egbuka blocking a linebacker on Jeremiah Smith’s 19-yard touchdown run on an end around which typifies the way he plays the game, Day said while previewing OSU’s game against Iowa on Saturday at Ohio Stadium at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

“He does all the dirty work. That’s the sign of a really good player and a good football team when guys are willing to do the dirty work,” Day said. “Not a lot of wide receivers are going to go in there and stick their nose in there like that.”

Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) appears to be the biggest challenge Ohio State has faced so far this season. The Hawkeyes’ only loss was 20-19 to its in-state rival, Iowa State, on a 54-yard field goal with six seconds left in the game.

Iowa has its usual solid defense (13.8 points per game) and is averaging 32 points a game, more than twice last season’s average (15.4 points per game).

“This is a challenge for all of us. This is a very good team. They play physical. We’re going to get challenged in a lot of areas,” Day said.

Day also had positive things to say about his own team.

“I love this team, I love the way they play. Every day when I wake up and put two feet on the ground I try to do everything I can to help this team reach its dreams and goals,” he said.

“These kids are unbelievable. They’re giving everything they have. We have to keep pushing them. That’s our job as coaches. It’s their job to take the coaching and continue with the great chemistry and effort we have. We’re coaching aggressively.”

Some other thoughts from Day:

… QUICK TRANSITION: Sonny Styles’ conversion to linebacker from safety has been seamless.

“I think he has made that transition pretty rapidly. That’s a big move to go from safety to linebacker. You’ve seen a lot of great things there. Anytime you’re doing things for the first time you’re learning but he’s learning fast,” Day said.

… STATUS QUO AT RIGHT GUARD: Tegra Tshabola and Austin Siereveld will continue to share the right guard position on the offensive line for now.

“There was nothing on the film that set one ahead or behind. They both graded out similarly. We’ll see how the preparation goes this week and decide as we get closer to the game,” he said.

..SMITH GETS SPECIAL ATTENTION: With 6 touchdowns (5 receiving, 1 rushing) it’s no surprise Jeremiah Smith is getting extra attention from opposing defenses.

“There’s no question people know where No. 4 is when he’s on the field,” Day said.

…BLACK STRIPE AN INCENTIVE: Removing a freshman’s black stripe from his helmet to signify he is fully a Buckeye, a tradition started by Urban Meyer, can be a big incentive for freshmen waiting their turn to get playing time, Day said.

“I think when you see somebody earn their stripes and have their black stripe taken off, when they’ve really earned it, I think it’s a sense of accomplishment there,” Day said.

“It’s easy when you don’t see the field too much to get caught into a rhythm of just going through the motions. Days can be long but the weeks go real fast and before you know it the season will be over and you’ve got to have something to show for it, some improvement along the way.”

Quarterback Prentiss “Air” Noland is the most recent player to lose his black stripe.