Ohio State Linebacker DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum To Return Kickoffs Against Toledo

"I wouldn’t be surprised if he took the first one he gets back."

Author:
Andrew Lind
Sep 14, 2022 10:21 PM EDT

In this story:

With sophomore wide receiver Emeka Egbuka playing all but five snaps with the first-team offense through the first two games of the season – in addition to handling punt return duties – Ohio State put junior linebacker DeaMonte “Chip” Trayanum back to return kickoffs against Arkansas State.

Most assumed it was to give Egbuka, who led the Big Ten with an average of 29.0 yards per return last season, a breather. But he indicated during his media availability on Wednesday night that Trayanum could be the Buckeyes’ primary kick returner moving forward

“Chip might even be better than me,” Egbuka said. “You guys are going to see on Saturday he’s a very special talent. One of the most, if not the most athletic guy on the team. I’m excited to see him return some stuff."

If you’re questioning why Ohio State would ask a linebacker to return kickoffs, remember that the 5-foot-11 and 230-pound Trayanum rushed for 692 yards and 10 touchdowns during in two seasons as a running back at Arizona State.

He switched positions after transferring to Columbus this offseason, and the Buckeyes now are looking for ways to get the ultra-talented Trayanum – who was clocked as fast as 24 miles per hour during offseason conditioning – on the field.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he took the first one he gets back,” Egbuka said. “I mean, he’s one of the fastest guys on the team. He can do backflips like it’s nothing. He’s one of the strongest guys in the weight room. Me, personally, if I was on the kickoff team, I would not want to tackle him.”

Trayanum didn’t get a chance to return a kickoff against the Red Wolves, as all five of Tristan Mattson’s kicks went over his head for a touchback. But if he gets his hands on the ball this weekend, Egbuka thinks he could end Ohio State’s kick return touchdown drought, which dates back to the 2010 season.

“Seeing him return them in practice, you don’t really realize how fast he is until he hits that crease,” Egbuka said. “Once he hits that crease, no one on the scout kickoff team has been able to catch him. So, like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he took it back.”

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