Latest news with #Steilacoom
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steilacoom's Emeka Egbuka selected by Tampa Bay Buccaneers in first round of 2025 NFL Draft
Emeka Egbuka's NFL dreams have arrived. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected the Steilacoom legend and College Football Playoff champion (Ohio State) with the 19th pick in Thursday's 2025 NFL Draft, adding Egbuka to an illustrious list of first-round Buckeye receivers. The 6-1, 203-pound wide receiver and Steilacoom native tallied 2,868 career receiving yards and 24 touchdowns across four seasons at Ohio State, capped by the Buckeyes' 34-23 over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship last Jan. 20. Egbuka had six receptions for 64 yards with a 13-yard carry in the title game. Emeka Egbuka's reaction to finding out he is a first-round draft pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — ESPN (@espn) April 25, 2025 A walking highlight reel at Steilacoom High (2017-2021), Egbuka was The News Tribune's 2019 All-Area Player of the Year after piling 2,240 all-purpose yards and 35 total touchdowns throughout his junior season. He guided Steilacoom to the school's first-ever 2A state championship appearance, a 48-34 loss to Tumwater in 2019, and made national headlines with an unbelievable one-handed touchdown grab in the title game. Egbuka was a two-time 2A SPSL MVP and member of The News Tribune's 2021 class of Northwest Nuggets. Washington's 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year was considered the nation's No. 1 high school receiving recruit before his commitment to Ohio State, a five-star prospect who doubled as a Steilacoom safety with exceptional range. 'The NFL is very much a goal,' Egbuka told The News Tribune back in 2020. 'Not just the NFL, but the first round. First round can really change your life and the others around you. After the first round, I'm looking for a long, healthy career and ultimately get myself in the Hall of Fame. … That's just more exposure to the NFL, if your team is in the College Football Playoff every year. You're going to be on TV, more NFL scouts are going to tune in.' Egbuka joins a long list of Ohio State receivers at the NFL level, a program among the nation's best at recruiting and developing wide receiver talent. It's no coincidence: In 2020, he chose the Buckeyes over hometown Washington and powerhouses from Alabama to Clemson for that very reason. 'Quick background on the room (at OSU) I stepped into: There was Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Jameson Williams, Kamryn Babb, Marvin Harrison Jr. That's probably one of the craziest rosters I've ever heard in my life,' Egbuka said at last month's NFL Combine. 'Some of you can picture what that room was like. That was one of the reasons I decided to go to Ohio State. 'I didn't want to go to a place where I wasn't going to be challenged by my peers. … I wanted to go somewhere I could grow at an exponential rate. Because they were growing, as well.' And he's widely recognized as one of the draft's smartest and safest selections. Egbuka earned a 6.37 prospect grade, meaning NFL scouts believe the 22-year-old 'will eventually be a plus starter.' A perfect prospect score is 8.0. In Tampa, he'll join a wide receiver room headlined by Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and former Washington Huskies wideout Jalen McMillan. 'Fluid athlete with good size and quality ball skills who works primarily from the slot,' NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein wrote for who compared Egbuka to Seattle wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba. 'Egbuka runs his routes with tempo and pace. He does a nice job of influencing coverage when needed. … He's not elusive or sudden after the catch but is competitive and can squeeze out additional yardage.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vote now for The News Tribune's Boys Athlete of the Week (March 17 to 22)
Vote for The News Tribune's Boys Athlete of the Week for contests played between March 17-22. Voting will remain open until noon Wednesday. The poll is located below. You can read about all of the candidates and their accomplishments below. Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted. Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley ( or Tyler Wicke (twicke@ or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete's first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday. Kort Baker, Thomas Jefferson baseball — Had three hits and drove in three runs in 7-3 win over White River on Tuesday. Colman Balda, Steilacoom baseball — Earned the win for Steilacoom in 3-1 win over Bethel on Tuesday, surrendering seven hits and one run (none earned) in seven innings of work on Tuesday. Aaron Barnhart, Bellarmine Prep baseball — Had three hits and four at bats with three RBI in Bellarmine's 12-2 win over Lakes on Wednesday. John Browand, Peninsula baseball — Gave up one hit and no runs, walking none and striking out 12 over five innings of work in 23-0 win over Lincoln on Wednesday. Will Cahill, Kennedy Catholic baseball — Hit a solo home run, had two hits, a walk and an RBI in 9-2 win over Olympia on Saturday. Coltyn Clark, Rogers baseball — Earned the win for Rogers in 5-1 win over Kentwood on Wednesday, giving up two hits and one run over four innings, striking out five and walking one. Jack Coleman, Kentwood baseball — Senior right-hander went five strong innings in Thursday's 4-2 win over White River, surrendering one earned run with one walk and five strikeouts. Tripled at the plate and finished 1-for-2 with two walks and a run. Adam Jay, Tahoma baseball — Left-hander tossed three scoreless innings with one walk and six strikeouts in Tuesday's 8-3 win over O'Dea, going 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI and a double. Kolton Jensen, White River baseball — Collected a pair of hits, a walk and drove in two runs in 7-2 win over Thomas Jefferson on Monday. On the mound, went four innings, allowing four hits, an earned run and striking out two. Landon Le, Decatur baseball — Junior outfielder delivered the walk-off single in the seventh inning of Monday's 3-2 win over Kentlake. Drew Macdonald, Steilacoom baseball — Drove in four runs on three hits, including a two-run double in the fourth innings of Steilacoom's 19-0 win over Mount Tahoma on Thursday. Ethan Mar, Gig Harbor baseball — Had a hit, three RBI and a walk in 12-0 win over North Thurston on Friday. Cooper Markham, Enumclaw baseball — Senior pitcher/designated hitter had three extra-base hits (two triples, double) in Tuesday's 19-1 win over Kent-Meridian, finishing 3-for-3 with four RBI. In Saturday's 1-0 win over Union, went 2-for-3 with a double. Thad Medvedich, Rogers baseball — Rams' catcher had two hits, a walk and drove in a run in 5-1 win over Kentwood on Wednesday. Mason Pike, Puyallup baseball — Senior tossed a six-inning shutout with one walk and 13 strikeouts in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Kennedy Catholic, surrendering just two hits. Daniel Porras, Gig Harbor baseball — Drove in five runs on two leads in 13-2 win over River Ridge on Wednesday. Evan Reece, Fife baseball — In 2-1 win over Lynden on Friday, Reece tossed six innings, allowing one run (none earned), walking two and striking out eight for the Trojans. Jett Reed, Puyallup baseball — Threw a six-inning one-hitter in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Edmonds-Woodway with two walks and 11 strikeouts. DJ Ringenbach, Puyallup baseball — Vikings third baseman hit Tuesday's walk-off single in the home seventh, lifting Puyallup over Kennedy Catholic, 1-0. Isaac Schultz-Tait, Peninsula baseball — Drove in six runs on two hits in 23-0 win over Lincoln on Wednesday. Landon Shepherd, Olympia baseball — Drove in three runs with a double in Olympia's 7-6 win over Thurston County peer Tumwater on Wednesday. Elijah Sledge, Franklin Pierce baseball — Senior leadoff hitter went 2-for-3 with a triple, walk, and two RBI in Tuesday's 9-1 win over Lincoln. Sledge took the mound in the fifth inning and delivered three scoreless frames in relief, walking one with six strikeouts. Cole Svendsen, Auburn Riverside baseball — Ravens utility outfielder homered in Thursday's 11-0 win over Auburn Mountainview, then went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in Friday's 10-0 win over the Lions. Drew Wicklander, Sumner baseball — Junior went 2-for-3 with two RBI in Wednesday's 15-2 win over Auburn, then went 3-for-4 with a run in Saturday's 10-0 shutout vs. Garfield. Dolan Wynne, Bellarmine Prep baseball — Senior right-hander fanned 13 across five solid frames in Wednesday's 12-2 win over Lakes, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk and run scored.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Emeka Egbuka going big-time at NFL combine--while cherishing his Steilacoom, Eastern roots
Emeka Egbuka had just had interviews with multiple teams. As one of the biggest and best inside, slot receivers at this NFL combine, he gets a lot of those. He was answering more questions in the car wash that is the parade of media interviews at the league's annual scouting showcase. He gets a lot of those, too. He was nearly 2,300 miles from home. He's been all the way to Ohio State, to the national championship, to the cusp of his boyhood dream. Yet all he really wanted to talk about Friday was where he came from. And the two local coaches who made him who and what he is. 'Greg Herd? That's one of my closest friends!' Egbuka said Friday of his wide receivers coach at Steilacoom High School. His smile lit up the Indiana Convention Center more than any NFL or Buckeyes subject did. 'Coach Herd,' Egbuka said, 'one of the best coaches I've ever had the pleasure to work with.' Before Egbuka became The News Tribune's 2019 All-Area football player of the year, the Washington state Gatorade player of the year and a state Class 2A runner-up at Steilacoom — before Yakima's Cooper Kupp won the Walter Payton Award at Eastern Washington as the nation's most outstanding offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision, then the Super Bowl MVP wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams — Tacoma's Greg Herd was The Man at Steilacoom and Eastern. Herd starred as a quarterback for the Sentinels, plus set school track records in the 100 meters in the Steilacoom Class of 2009. He then switched positions, to wide receiver, at Eastern Washington. There Herd won a national championship and became one of the top pass catchers in EWU history. Now 34 and the head football coach and athletic director at Auburn-Riverside High School, Herd got his first school coaching job as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at his alma mater. That was in 2018. That was Egbuka's sophomore year for the Sentinels. 'For those of you who don't know, he's my high school coach,' Egbuka proudly told the crowd of reporters from across the country who were lined up deep to ask him questions Friday at the NFL combine. 'He went to Steilacoom. Then he went to Eastern Washington. Played in the NFL for a number of years (signed as a rookie free agent first by Dallas, then, briefly, in 2013 by his hometown Seahawks and Chicago Bears). 'He kind of passed me all the knowledge that he had at the wide receiver position when I was a young kid. I was in eighth grade when I first met him. 'He's still doing his thing, coaching in the state of Washington. I'm excited to see how his future pans out.' That's Egbuka, to those who know him — or even those who meet him for the first time. Quick to credit and praise others for his success. Always proud of Steilacoom, and Eastern. Like many top prospects here, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Egbuka said he will not be running the nationally televised 40-yard dash this weekend or doing other physical testing on the field inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Instead, he will do those drills at Ohio State's pro day workout March 26. As sure as Indiana is the Hoosier State, prospects at every NFL combine get asked the same, incessant question from media members every year. 'Did you have an interview with (team-fill-in-the-blank)?' Friday, Egbuka dutifully answered that he'd talked to the Steelers, Raiders and Texans, among others. One team no one had to ask if he'd talked to: Dallas. He has been talking to Cowboys wide receivers coach Junior Adams, the Washington Huskies' wide receivers coach then offensive coordinator from 2019-21, for almost as long as he has Herd. 'Junior Adams, their wide receivers coach, I've known him for a long time,' Egbuka said. 'He actually coached my wide receivers coach in high school, when he (Herd) was at Eastern Washington (from 2009-13). So, we've had a long relationship ever since I was in high school. 'He's awesome. I love talking to him. And we stayed connected all four years I was in college.' The best formal interview Egbuka's had this week in Indianapolis was with the Raiders. Las Vegas' new coach is Pete Carroll, the coach of the Seahawks' Super Bowl teams Egbuka grew up watching. Carroll recently hired Egbuka's offensive coordinator and play caller at Ohio State last season, Chip Kelly, to be the Raiders' OC. Kelly called the plays on which Egbuka had 81 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Buckeyes last season. One of the biggest was Kelly sending Egbuka on a deep go route and quarterback Will Howard trusting him to beat his Notre Dame defender for the huge pass play late in the national championship. Egbuka's exquisite route and catch clinched the Buckeyes' title-game win in January. 'It was amazing,' Egbuka said of the Raiders' 15-minute interview with him. 'I'm a Seahawks fan and Pete Carroll was there. An I'm like, 'Oh snap, there's Pete Carroll!' 'I was looking for Coach Kelly. He wasn't there (initially). He came in late and we shared a moment there. I was excited to see him and chop it up a little bit.' Egbuka later told CBS Sports of Kelly and the Raiders: 'I'd love to play for him again.' Egbuka is trying to join the seemingly endless parade of Buckeye wide receivers who have become first-round picks. It's a legacy that predates Hall of Famer Cris Carter at OSU in the 1980s. The last three years of Buckeyes' first-round picks at the position include Marvin Harrison Jr., the Seahawks' Jaxson Smith-Njigba (in 2023), Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave. That legacy, and launch pad to NFL millions, is what drew Egbuka to Ohio State. 'Quick background on room I stepped into: There was Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Jameson Williams, Kamryn Babb, Marvin Harrison Jr. That's probably one of the craziest rosters I've ever heard in my life,' Egbuka said of the Buckeyes' wide-receiver group for touted position coach Brian Hartline his freshman year at OSU. 'Some of you can picture what that room was like. That was one of the reasons I decided to go to Ohio State. I didn't want to go to a place where I wasn't going to be challenged by my peers.' So that's why Ebuka left Steilacoom. That's why he left the West Coast away from his friends and mentors Herd and Adams. Tha't how he's gottent within a month of making all the morning weight lifting, the endless receiving drills, the practices, flights and games worth it. 'I wanted to go somewhere I could grow at an exponential rate,.' he said. 'Because they were growing, as well.'
