Steilacoom’s star trio inks National Letters of Intent on football’s early signing day
Emeka Egbuka and Chance McDonald have been playing football together since the second grade. McDonald, who grew up playing quarterback, has been throwing Egbuka touchdown passes for years, well before their time in high school together.
On Wednesday, the Steilacoom High School seniors took their most official step yet toward their dream of playing Division-I college football, signing their National Letters of Intent during the NCAA’s early signing period, which began Wednesday.
Egbuka, a five-star recruit and The News Tribune’s 2019 All-Area Player of the Year, signed with Ohio State. McDonald, who put up big numbers as the Sentinels’ quarterback in 2019, signed with Western Kentucky. And D.J. Fryar, who joined the Steilacoom program in his junior year, signed with Arizona.
Not too shabby for a Class 2A school.
“This is a special class,” said Steilacoom coach Colby Davies. “This is my first class I’ve been able to spend four years with. This is my first graduating class since being the head coach here. This one will always hold a special place for me. I love coaching these guys. We’ve had so much fun over the years. The disappointing part is that we don’t know if we’re going to get to strap them up and play together again. This is by far the most talented class that Steilacoom’s ever had.”
The class was instrumental in leading Steilacoom to the Class 2A state championship game in 2019, where the Sentinels fell to Tumwater.
Egbuka, the nation’s No. 1 receiver and the second-ranked player overall in the 2021 class in the state, announced his commitment to Ohio State last Friday. He chose the Buckeyes over Oklahoma and Washington. He’s considered a five-star recruit.
“It’s special,” Egbuka said. “Steilacoom is all we know. … We just dreamt of this moment. We’re glad D.J. could join the family last year. We were super happy to have him and he quickly became a brother to us. I’m just happy we were all able to live out our dreams and get college for free.”
A few days ago, Fryar, a linebacker, didn’t know whether he was still going to sign with Arizona. the school fired head coach Kevin Sumlin on Saturday, a day after the Wildcats’ 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State. But Fryar talked with interim head coach Paul Rhoads, who offered reassurance.
“He was just pretty much telling me how, as long as I make sure I’m doing what I need to do, everything is going to play out,” Fryar said. “Once they get the new coaches, build a relationship with them early, so once I go in, everybody will be nice and flowing there.”
McDonald committed to Western Kentucky in May, and has been waiting patiently for signing day. When it finally came, he was ready.
“I don’t think it was nerves — more like excitement,” McDonald said. “You’re going to go to college, play football. It’s kind of an indescribable feeling. You just know that you’re ready to go, ready to go on your journey.”
It remains to be seen whether Washington will have a high school football season this school year. The fall season was pushed to the spring. But in the Steilacoom High School gym on Wednesday afternoon, happy energy prevailed, along with likely smiles underneath the masks.
“I think being here with these guys, these guys being able to celebrate the day, it puts a little light on a situation where there’s been a whole lot of darkness,” Davies said. “We haven’t been able to do things the way we’d want to. I think we’re all happy about being able to celebrate this moment together how we can.”
