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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka made a big impression on the NFL stage in his rookie year in 2025.
But the Ohio State product doesn’t just believe his purpose is to help his team reach its Super Bowl goals — preaching his faith is also one of his top priorities.
Like many in the NFL, Egbuka uses his platform professionally to share his Christian faith, something he said he found five years ago at a time in his life where he needed it.
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Emeka Egbuka of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walks on the field before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on January 3, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Today, if you go to his Instagram page, you’ll see his name is “Christ Follower” and he explained to Pak Gazette Digital how his faith drives him on and off the field.
“Simply put, it’s a very important part of my life because of what Jesus has done in my life, and I know he offers the same for every person,” Egbuka said over Zoom after helping USAA with its “Huddle UP For Hurricane Prep” by building disaster kits and educating his fellow Tampa Bay citizens about hurricane protection.
“He met me where I was five years ago, which seems crazy to say. I’ve been walking with Him ever since.
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Five years ago, Egbuka was just a freshman at Ohio State and was hoping to make an impact for the Buckeyes. As he continued to grow over three more years of college football, he ended up helping the Buckeyes win a national championship during the 2024 season.
At the same time, he said he began to find “peace” and “joy” with his faith and with God, which he still feels today.
“The sense of identity that I have that I didn’t have before. There are a lot of things in my life and a lot of ways that I was struggling mentally that He pulled me out of,” Egbuka explained. “Those are things that go unnoticed. They’re things behind the curtains that people don’t see every day because we put on these masks, we put on these faces.” [and] facades.
Emeka Egbuka #2 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaves the field after defeating the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on January 3, 2026. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
“But deep down, everyone deals with things. It’s life. It tests us all. There are trials and tribulations that come every day, and we can do our best to stay strong and faithful. At the end of the day, we are human. We can only do so much to stay strong when there comes a point where we reach the end of ourselves – that’s where I was when God found me.
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“Just being able to preach about Him, using my platform to spread the Gospel. Just the hope that there is in Jesus is what I feel is my purpose.”
Upon entering the NFL community, Egbuka noticed that others like Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins and many more also shared his faith.
“I think it’s a blessing and a privilege that we can be so open,” Egbuka added. “Obviously, it wasn’t always like that, but even today, in different countries, you can be murdered and killed for professing your faith and all that. We’re just in a society and a culture that we can share that openly without any hostility or reaction towards us. I think it’s a great privilege that we have to be able to share our platform and use it to spread the Gospel.”
Another way Egbuka uses his platform is to impact his community, as he did Tuesday at USAA’s Tampa office, where he focused some of his off-season efforts on raising awareness about hurricane preparedness in an area susceptible to these types of natural disasters.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka surrounded by USAA volunteers creating hurricane disaster kits ahead of hurricane season in Florida. (USA.)
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“This isn’t my first time working with USAA, so I’m happy to partner with them again,” he said. “Great staff and everyone who works here. They’ve been very hospitable to me and my team, and obviously that hits close to home. I have a grandfather who was a Navy SEAL, a father who was an active duty soldier for a while and now works at the Department of Defense as a civil engineer. I’ve definitely been around military people my whole life.
“Some of the disaster kits we made today have whistles, safety blankets, anything you might need when a disaster strikes. That’s what we’re focused on today. There’s nothing we can do to prevent a hurricane from happening. Obviously, being aware of the weather and paying attention to alerts and all that. I know my house came with hurricane shutters and everything to stay on top of that. We’re really just trying to do our best to be proactive, and I think those kits we made today It will be a great help.”
