Washington has become known for its fantastic players in the 2021 recruiting class.
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In addition to housing one of the nation's most talented high school quarterbacks in Sam Huard, the state is also the home of five-star Emeka Egbuka, who is regarded as the best wide receiver prospect in the country.
WR Emeka Egbuka Recruiting
These are the four schools I will be focusing on furthering my recruitment .. #FIN4L 🖤 pic.twitter.com/kaudie4x67
— Emeka Egbuka (@emeka_egbuka) May 15, 2020
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Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who plays for Steilacoom High School, has been a force on the field, and numerous college football coaches have noticed. He has received a ridiculous amount of offers, including from schools like Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, and Washington State. However, none of these schools are the frontrunners for his services.
His four finalists were the Clemson Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, and Washington Huskies.
The coronavirus pandemic has made official visits to these school challenging to accomplish, so there was far more speculation than there would be in a regular year.
Emeka Egbuka Commits to Ohio State
Thank you to all who helped me get to this point. Time to start a new chapter .. 📍 pic.twitter.com/caZGpfRj3B
— Emeka Egbuka (@emeka_egbuka) December 12, 2020
The 247Sports Crystal Ball believed that the Buckeyes are the favorites, in large part due to the relationship between Egbuka and OSU Wide Receivers coach Brian Hartline, as well as head coach Ryan Day. The Sooners were in a close second place, thanks primarily to Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams creating a social media campaign to generate buzz for Egbuka joining the squad in Norman.
On December 12, Egbuka, the nation's No. 9 overall recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite, announced he is taking his talents to Columbus, Ohio, and playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes next season.
Landing the five-star receiver, as well as Marvin Harrison Jr., reloads OSU's receiving corps for more College Football Playoff pushes in the future.
Emeka Egbuka Highlights
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is a transcendent talent who can do it all for Steilacoom.
In addition to his duties at wide receiver, he has also lined up as a running back on several occasions, scoring four touchdowns on the ground. He is a two- way player who gets featured as a defensive back on the other side of the ball, too.
Despite his versatility, he is much more successful as a wideout; in his freshman year, he ingratiated himself to his teammates by catching 13 touchdown passes, and his role with the offense only got larger over time.
In total, he has accumulated more than 3,700 receiving yards and reached paydirt 58 times. Quite the impressive resume for a high schooler.
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, he is neither the tallest nor the strongest player on the field, but looking at the tape, he is significantly quicker than any cornerback tasked with stopping him. A 4.42 second 40-yard dash time puts him in elite company, and he will likely get even faster with more physical maturity.
247Sports recruiting writer Brandon Huffman made a bold claim and compared Egbuka to Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, citing elite body control and ball skills that are rarely seen in 17-year olds.
While that comparison to an elite NFL wideout may be difficult to fathom, Egbuka's potential is there, and if he can emerge from college healthy, he could easily be a future first-round NFL Draft pick.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has postponed Washington high school sports until Spring 2021, so fans and coaches may not be able to get one last look at him before he makes his decision. He is leaning toward playing out his senior year, but that can change if sports have to be postponed once more.
Give me a senior year ... https://t.co/SFHJpjHTOS
— Emeka Egbuka (@emeka_egbuka) July 19, 2020
Egbuka is not the only star playing for Steilacoom: linebacker DJ Fryer is also committed to playing college football, although he will be at the University of Arizona next season.
The state has shown a commitment to safety, but that commitment does create unforeseen consequences, such as in the world of football recruiting, which emphasizes building relationships.
The Buckeyes have already gotten to know Egbuka, and as a result, he will be tormenting the Big Ten and will take the NCAA by storm next fall after Signing Day.
This post was originally published on October 29, 2020 and updated after Egbuka's commitment to Ohio State.
