Emeka Egbuka selected in first round of NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Five-star WR from Steilacoom High School (Washington) caught 199 passes for nearly 4,000 yards and 61 touchdowns in his three seasons

Steilacoom wide receiver Emeka Egbuka caught 199 passes for nearly 4,000 yards and 61 touchdowns in his career. / Photo by Vince Miller

An All-American wide receiver at Eastern Washington University (FCS), Greg Herd bounced around a few NFL camps before settling into the coaching world back home in Tacoma.

In 2016, Herd came out to a Rise Academy combine to check out some of the local talent. He noticed one teenager off running routes and catching passes, and noted to himself the kid had the look of a decent high school prospect.

Until one of the directors told him it was Emeka Egbuka, and that he was in seventh grade.

That is when Herd's curiosity deepened in a player who is now headed to the NFL. Egbuka was selected with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Thursday night in Green Bay.

"I did not know his name or where he was from," Herd said. "i went up to him and we stared talking, and he said he was from Steilacoom, and was at Pioneer Middle School, which is where I went.

"The more I watched, the more I thought he was damn good."

As fate would have it two years later, Herd returned to his alma mater — Steilacoom High School — as the offensive coordinator under ex-coach Colby Davies to run a high-powered passing attack that showcased the smooth-yet-strong Egbuka as its centerpiece playmaker.

Herd paid attention to the flashes Egbuka showed as a ninth grader — playing running back and wide receiver. And he was already starting to make a name for himself in recruiting circles.

"Going into his sophomore year ... we went to the EWU camp, and everybody had heard about this kid who had offers," Herd said. "It was kind of crazy — he was basically still a freshman, and a bunch of seniors wanted to go one-on-one against him.

"He was everyone's target."

And soon, people would see why.

In 12 games as a sophomore in the 2A SPSL, Egbuka — who would soon be rated as a five-star recruit by 247Sports.com — hauled in 72 passes for 1,492 yards and 23 touchdowns.

"The jump he made from freshman year to sophomore year was insane," Herd said. "And in his junior year ... it was twice that (previous) jump.

"He got to the point where nobody could defend him."

And Herd had him line up everywhere — in or wide, even in the backfield at direct-snap quarterback. And it didn't matter the depth of his routes — short or long — Egbuka had enough burst, wiggle and proficiency to take it the distance from anywhere.

"He had a very deep tool bag for a high school wide receiver," Herd said.

As a junior, Egbuka finished with a staggering 34 total touchdowns in 14 games — 29 on offense, three on punt returns and two on interception returns.

He had 83 receptions for 1,607 yards and 25 touchdowns (and eight interceptions on defense) — and was named the Gatorade state player of the year.

And, of course, Egbuka had the catch of the year in the WIAA Class 2A championship game against powerhouse Tumwater — a lean-back, one-handed 23-yard scoring grab over a defender in the end zone.

He finished with 18 catches for 163 yards and four total touchdowns in the loss.

"Funny thing, when we scrimmaged Tumwater in the spring before, he had the same catch with the same hand in the same spot of the end zone," Herd said. "When he did it in the game, I was thinking, 'Wow, he did that a couple months ago.'"

Egbuka bypassed his pandemic-impacted senior season in 2020 to enroll at Ohio State University early.

As Egbuka prepares to enter the NFL this week as a projected first-round draft pick out, Herd sees a little bit of three professional receivers in his makeup — the stocky, strong route-runner of an Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit), the smoothness of a Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle) and the fearlessness of a Cooper Kupp (Los Angeles Rams/Seattle), his former teammate at EWU.

"When he runs and the ball is in the air, all he sees is he ball," Herd said. "His hands were very natural."

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