The aspirations to play in the National Football League are alive and well for four former Eastern Washington University football players.
 
Linebacker Ketner Kupp, cornerback Josh Lewis, defensive lineman Jay-Tee Tiuli and wide receiver Nsimba Webster will all head to NFL Rookie Minicamps in the next two weeks. They have been invited to attend as undrafted free agents in hopes of making the 90-man training camp roster for their respective teams, which all reside in the West Division of the National Football Conference.
 
Kupp received a rookie camp invite from the San Francisco 49ers, which will have its rookie mini-camp May 3-5. Lewis and Tiuli will be at the Seattle Seahawks camp, which takes that same weekend at Seahawks headquarters in Renton, Wash. The Rams have not announced the date of their camp, but Webster will be the latest EWU receiver to join last year's Super Bowl runner-up.
 
"The fact these four individuals have the opportunity to continue their respective football careers is an awesome achievement," said Eastern head coach Aaron Best. "The sacrifices their parents, siblings, families, and friends have made to help get them to this point are numerous. The fruits of everyone's labor involved along their journey are now on display at the professional level."
 
The NFL allows teams to hold post-draft rookie minicamps on one of two weekends – May 3-6 or May 10-13 – which is open for draftees, UDFAs and rookie invites. Teams are restricted to 90 players when training camp begins in July, with the cut-down to 53 players occurring on Aug. 31.
 
"We here at EWU have seen each and every one of these individuals grow on and off of the field along the way and we are thankful to have mentored and taught such an awesome bunch of student-athletes," continued Best. "Each of these players have all earned this opportunity and we wish them continued success."

Currently, Eastern has four veterans in the NFC West already – including wide receiver Cooper Kupp (Ketner's brother), linebacker Samson Ebukam and offensive lineman Aaron Neary with the Rams. Five-year NFL veteran offensive lineman Jake Rogers recently signed with the Denver Broncos, and Taiwan Jones is currently a free agent after spending his eight years in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders.
 
Webster measured in at 5-foot-9 and 176 pounds at EWU's Pro Day earlier this month, some 20 pounds heavier than Rams' receivers coach Eric Yarber when he played at Idaho in 1984 and 1985. Yarber was just 5-8 1/2 and 152 pounds as a senior at Idaho, and he was taken in the 12th round of the NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played in 14 games in two seasons with the Redskins, catching one pass for five yards. Yarber has been with the Rams since 2017 – the year Cooper Kupp joined the team as a fourth-round draft choice
 
The Rams will have their July training camp in Irvine, Calif., and head coach Sean McVay recently said this in regards to the situation with rookies:
 
"I think in the next couple of weeks we can start to get guys in. We'll be a little bit more specific. It won't be the typical open rookie minicamp. We'll have something more focused on draft picks and maybe giving guys a chance to come in and compete in a tryout-type setting. But, it will be definitely more limited to what we had a couple years ago with Kupp and John Johnson, Josh Reynolds, and Gerald Everett (plus Ebukam), that draft class. So, it will be little bit different."
 
 

More about Ketner Kupp . . .

 
He finished with 267 tackles in his career to rank 14th all-time at EWU, and started 27 of the 48 games he played as an Eagle. Kupp is the younger brother of four-time EWU FCS All-American Cooper Kupp, who now plays for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL. Interestingly, Cooper's longest plays as an Eagle were pass plays of 78 and 75 yards and a pair of 76-yard punt returns, but Ketner topped that with a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown in his senior season. Cooper is a third-generation NFL player from his family – his grandfather, Jake, played from 1964-75 as a guard with Dallas, the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints. Cooper and Ketner's father, Craig, was a fifth-round draft pick by the New York Giants in 1990 and played in 1991 for the Phoenix Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys. 
 
Ketner Kupp earned second-team All-Big Sky Conference honors (as selected by the league's head coaches), and was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the fourth-straight season. In addition, he was selected as the team's defensive MVP as well. One of the team's co-captains, he led the Eagles in tackles with 115 to rank 13th in school history, and also broke-up three passes and had five quarterback hurries. In the last four games of his Eagle career – all in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – he had 46 tackles (11.5 per game). He had his 10th career double-figure tackling game when he had 11 in the NCAA Division I Championship Game versus North Dakota State (1/5/19). Two games earlier against UC Davis (12/8/18) in the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, he finished with 16 stops to surpass his previous career high of 12. Against Nicholls (12/1/18) he had 12 tackles and a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown, which ranks as the second-longest in school history. The only return longer was a 96-yarder by Maurice Perigo versus Southwest Texas State on Sept. 21, 1996.
 
He graduated from Davis HS in 2015. As a senior, Kupp was named to the Associated Press 4A All-State first team as a linebacker. He was named by the Seattle Times as a "White Chip" selection as one of the top 100 prospects in the state of Washington. Was the Columbia Basin/Big 9 (CBBN) Defensive Player of the Year and was a first team All-CBBN linebacker. As a senior in 2014, Kupp had 91 total tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, two other tackles for loss, five passes broken up, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and he blocked three field goals on the season. Offensively, he had 17 receptions for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Kupp helped lead Davis to a 9-2 record and the school's first ever berth in the State 4A Playoffs.
 
He was a business administration/management major and received his degree at the conclusion of the 2018 fall quarter with a 3.30 grade point average.
 
 

More about Josh Lewis . . .

 
Lewis started 36 career games, including all 15 in the 2018 season and all 11 in the 2017 season for a streak of 26 to end his career. He played in all 51 of a possible 51 games in his career and had career totals of 151 tackles, 10 interceptions to rank tied for ninth in school history and 23 passes broken up to rank ninth all-time at EWU. He completed requirements toward his degree in criminal justice degree following fall quarter of 2018 when he had a perfect 4.0 grade point average (3.58 overall).
 
He concluded his collegiate career by being selected to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 19, 2019. As a senior he earned second team All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league's head coaches), and was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the fourth-straight season. In 2018 he tied for the team lead with five interceptions and led EWU with 12 passes broken up to go along with 62 tackles, a pair of sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.
 
He helped lead the Eagles to the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship game where it lost 38-24 to North Dakota State (1/5/19). He returned an interception to the 1-yard line versus Maine (12/15/18) to set-up an EWU touchdown in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. He had a season-high nine tackles one game earlier versus UC Davis (12/8/18) in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
 
Lewis earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors as a junior. He finished with 52 tackles, a team-leading three interceptions and five other PBUs. He had a career-high 11 tackles at UC Davis (10/7/17).
 
Lewis graduated from Steilacoom HS (near Tacoma, Wash.) in 2014. He was chosen to play in the 2A/1A/2B/1B East-West All-State Game on June 21, 2014 in Yakima, Wash.
 
 

More about Jay-Tee Tiuli . . .

 
Tiuli Started 24 of the 49 games he played in his career, and finished with 115 total tackles with 12 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hurries, four passes deflected, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble he recovered for a touchdown. He concluded his collegiate career by being selected to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Jan. 19, 2019.
 
Tiuli earned a trio of All-America honors in 2018, including second team honors from Associated Press and STATS, plus third team accolades from Phil Steele Publications. He was the Big Sky Conference Defensive MVP as selected by the league's head coaches and earned first team All-Big Sky honors for the second time of his career. Although he missed the last two games for violation of team rules, Tiuli was a dominant force in the middle in the 13 games he played and started. He finished the season with 38 tackles, four sacks, two passes broken up, a quarterback hurry, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He had a season-high five tackles in games versus Cal Poly (9/22/18) and Nicholls (12/1/18) in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
 
In what was supposed to be his senior season in 2017, Tiuli started Eastern's first two games at nose tackle, but was lost for the rest of the season with an injury. As a junior in 2016, he earned first team All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league's head coaches). He finished with 33 tackles and four sacks. He had a season-high six tackles against Cal Poly (11/5/16) and had a pair of sacks versus UC Davis (10/1/16). He had a team-leading 4 1/2 sacks and a total of 37 tackles in 11 games played as a sophomore in 2015, and in 2014 saw action as a true freshman.
 
Tiuli graduated from Federal Way (Wash.) HS in 2014. He was named by the Seattle Times as a "White Chip" selection as one of the top 100 prospects in the state of Washington. He was picked as a second team selection on the Tacoma News Tribune All-Area squad as an offensive lineman. His last name is pronounced "tee-oo-lee."
 
 

More about Nsimba Webster  . . .

 
In his 44-game career (26 as a starter), Webster caught 156 passes to rank 15th in school history, good for 2,233 yards to rank 17th and 18 touchdowns to equal the 16th-most all-time at EWU. He closed his career with four catches for 92 yards in the NCAA Division I Championship Game against North Dakota State (1/5/19), and finished his career with eight 100-yard performances.
 
Webster earned first team All-Big Sky honors in 2018 (as selected by the league's head coaches) as a senior. He was third in FCS receiving yards (1,379 to rank eighth in school history), 19th in receiving yards per game (91.9) and 27th in catches (5.67 per game with a total of 84 to rank as the ninth-most in all-time at EWU). During EWU's seven-game winning streak from Oct. 27 to Dec. 15, he caught 42 passes for 607 yards and six touchdowns.
 
He had a record-setting performance in EWU's 50-19 win over Maine (12/15/18) in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. He had nine catches for 188 yards and four touchdowns, with his four TD catches equaling EWU's school record shared by three other players and also tying the FCS Playoff record. It was his second-most yards in his career, ranking behind the 212 he had on 10 catches in EWU's 2018 opener versus Central Washington (9/1/18) to rank as the ninth-most in school history. In his junior season in 2017, Webster earned third team All-Big Sky honors (as selected by the league's head coaches).
 
He graduated from Deer Valley HS in California in 2014, and was selected to the MaxPreps.com All-Northern California High School Football Team. He was selected by the Bay Area News Group as the All-East Bay Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Was a communication studies major at EWU, and received his bachelor's degree at the conclusion of the 2018 fall quarter. His twin brother, Nzuzi, played in 53 games (26 as a starter) for the Eagles from 2014-18 (he received the 2014 season back as an injury hardship), and had 166 total tackles and a trio of interceptions. A third team All-Big Sky Conference selection as a sophomore in 2016 and honorable mention in 2018, he had 31 passes broken up in his career to rank fourth in school history. Like the Webster twins, former Eagle and eight-year NFL veteran Taiwan Jones also attended Deer Valley.