Bio updated 1/18/17

*** 2016 All-American ***

Career: Following the end of his Eastern career, Ebukam and teammate Kendrick Bourne were selected to play in the NFL Players Association Bowl on Jan. 21, 2017, in Carson, Calif. Ebukam had 24 sacks in his career to rank sixth in school history, and finished with 188 total tackles total in 53 games (38 as a starter). One of six Eagle co-captains for the 2016 season, he received second-team All-Big Sky honors in both 2014 and 2015, and first team accolades in 2016. He was a second team Freshman All-America selection in 2013. In addition, four times he earned Big Sky All-Academic honors. A team captain in 2016, his 38 career starts were the second-most among defensive players behind linebacker Miquiyah Zamora with 45. He played in eight career playoff games and had 23 tackles with 4 1/2 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. In his four seasons playing for Eastern, the Eagles won 41 games overall and were 28-4 in the Big Sky Conference.
 
2016: Ebukam earned four All-America honors as a senior, including prestigious first team accolades from the American Football Coaches Association. He also earned third team accolades from Associated Press, STATS and Hero Sports. The Big Sky Conference coaches selected him as a first team All-Big Sky selection, and he earned Big Sky All-Academic honors for the fourth-straight season. Started all 14 games at “buck” defensive end, finishing with a team-high 9 1/2 sacks as one of six team co-captains.. He had totals of 71 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, eight quarterback hurries, two passes broken up and an interception. He ranked 37th in FCS and third in the league with an average of 0.68 sacks per game. He had a monster game versus Richmond (12/10/16) in the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals in which he had eight tackles, a pair of sacks, two other tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception he returned seven yards. He helped the Eagles record their first shutout in 102 games and allowed their fewest yards (205) in 28 outings. He also had a pair of sacks in EWU's season opener against Washington State (9/3/16) and two to end the regular season versus Portland State (11/16/16). In the PSU victory, his sack for an eight-yard loss on a third down late in the fourth quarter forced a fourth-and-15 situation. A scramble by PSU quarterback Alex Kuresa came up three yards short with 1:56 left in the game, and the Eagles ran out the clock for the win. After allowing PSU to gain 166 yards and 14 points on its first 24 plays of the game, the EWU defense held PSU to 14 points and 305 yards in the final 47:14 of the game. One game earlier, Ebukam had eight tackles, a sack, one pass broken up and three quarterback hurries in a 48-17 Senior Day victory versus Idaho State (11/12/16). Eastern’s defense kept ISU’s offense in check all night, giving up 133 passing yards and 159 rushing. Eastern’s defense finished with four sacks, five quarterback hurries and six passes broken up. Idaho State had two turnovers and had to punt nine times, with the Eagle defense allowing just 3.4 yards per play and recording five three-and-outs. Although he didn’t get credit for any sacks, he certainly made it difficult for Montana State (10/22/16) in a 41-17 Eagle win. He had four tackles, including one on a forced fumble that was recovered by the Eagles. Eastern’s defense surrendered 17 points in the first 16:03 of the game, but MSU didn’t score again in the final 43:57. Eastern forced five turnovers and had none themselves and outgained MSU 421-152 in the final three quarters. Four times he was selected as the team’s defensive player of the week after victories over WSU, MSU, Richmond and Central Arkansas (12/3/16). He sat out spring practices after off-season shoulder surgery.
 
2015: Earned second team All-Big Sky honors after starting all 11 games as Eastern’s “buck” end in its new 4-2-5 defense. Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the third-straight season. His 44 tackles were the most among defensive linemen, and he also had four sacks. He had a season-high eight tackles against Weber State (10/31/15) when he had 1 1/2 sacks in the 14-13 victory. He also had sacks versus Idaho State (10/17/15) and Oregon (9/5/15), and also batted down a pass against the FBS runner-up from the year before. He was the team’s defensive player of the week after finishing with six tackles versus Sacramento State (9/26/15).
 
2014: Earned second team All-Big Sky honors. Also earned second team all-league accolades from College Sports Madness. Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team for the second time. He started all 13 of the games he played. He was sixth on the team with 45 tackles in the 2014 season, including a team-leading 7 1/2 sacks and 15 total tackles for loss, with two blocked kicks. One of his blocks was an extra point against Northern Arizona (10/25/14). Earlier in the season, he was the special teams player of the week after his blocked punt against Idaho State (10/4/14) was recovered by senior Dylan Zylstra for a touchdown. He had a pair of sacks for the Eagles versus UC Davis (9/27/14), both in the second quarter. His first sack led to a punt that helped lead to an EWU field goal that gave the Eagles the lead for good. His second sack slowed a drive with UC Davis at its own 44-yard line with a minute left in the first half. He also had a pair of sacks versus Northern Colorado (10/18/14) in a 26-18 win to earn team defensive player of the week honors. Ebukam had a career-high nine tackles in EWU’s win at Portland State (11/21/14). He made the first start of his career in EWU’s season opener on ESPN against Sam Houston State (8/23/14) and finished with seven tackles. He missed the Washington game (9/6/14) with an ankle injury.
 
2013: Earned second team Freshman All-America honors from both College Sports Journal and Phil Steele Publications. Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. Did not start, but played in all 15 games as a true freshman. He finished with 28 tackles and three quarterback sacks. He was credited with two passes broken up and two quarterback hurries. He also had an interception he returned 21 yards for a touchdown in EWU’s 34-10 home win over Southern Utah (10/19/13). He recorded sacks versus Sam Houston State (9/28/13), North Dakota (10/12/13) and Idaho State (11/2/13). He earned EWU’s special teams player of the week award against Portland State (11/23/13). He was one of two true freshmen among the 11 players who saw significant action along the defensive line for the Eagles.
 
HS: Graduated from David Douglas HS in 2013. He helped lead his North squad to a 21-14 victory in the Les Schwab all-star football game on June 22, 2013, in Hillsboro, Ore. He was selected to the All-Mount Hood Conference first team as a defensive lineman and honorable mention as a tight end. He was a two-way starter for the Scots, and also played fullback, as a senior in 2012. David Douglas finished 5-7, losing 42-6 to Sheldon in the first round of the State 6A Playoffs. He was also a starter and second team All-Mt. Hood Conference selection as a defensive lineman as a junior in 2011. Ebukam helped lead the Scots to the second round of the Oregon State 6A playoffs where they lost 28-18 to Oregon City. David Douglas finished 4-8, including a 17-14 first-round playoff win over West Linn. Also played basketball and competed in track and field at David Douglas. He placed second as a senior in both the javelin (school-record 205-6) and the shot put (personal-best 55-2 1/2) at the State 6A Track Championships. He came just six inches from the javelin title and 1 1/2 inches from the shot put championship, as David Douglas finished third as a team. Ebukam was third at state in the javelin as a sophomore. He set the school record with a throw of 184-10. He also ran on the school’s 4x100 meter relay team.
 
Personal: Communication studies major. Born 5/9/95 in Nigeria. Full name is Nnamaka Samson Ebukam. His parents are Tobias and Stella Ebukam. Last name is pronounced “ay-boo-com.”
  

Year	GP	TT	Hi	S	TL-Yds	FF-FR	PBU	I-Yds
2013	15	28	4	3	4-25	0-0	2	1-21 (td)
2014	13	45	9	7.5	15-49	0-0	0	0-0
2015	11	44	8	4	10-28	0-1	2	0-0
2016	14	71	8	9.5	15-83	2-3	2	1-7
Totals	53	188	9	24	44-185	2-4	6	2-28 (td)

Blocked Kicks: 2013/0; 2014/2; Totals/2.
 

Honors Won by Samson Ebukam
2016 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team
2016 First Team All-America (AFCA/Announced on Dec. 19)
2016 Third Team All-America (Associated Press/Announced on Dec. 15)
2016 Third Team All-America (STATS/Announced on Dec. 20)
2016 Third Team All-America (Hero Sports/Announced on Dec. 30)
2016 First Team All-Big Sky Conference (selected by league’s head coaches)
2016 Preseason First Team All-Big Sky Conference (College Sports Madness)
2015 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team
2015 Second Team All-Big Sky Conference (selected by league’s head coaches)
2014 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team
2014 Second Team All-Big Sky Conference (selected by league’s head coaches)
2014 Second Team All-Big Sky Conference (selected by College Sports Madness)
2013 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team
2013 Freshman All-America Team (selected by College Sports Journal)
2013 Freshman All-America Team (selected by Phil Steele Publications)
 
 
 EWU Career Sacks Leaders
 1. - 35.5 - Greg Peach - 2005-08
 2. - 30 - Frank Staudenraus - 1982-85
 3. - 29.5 - Jeff Allen - 1997-00
 4. - 25.5 - Chris Scott - 1995-97
 5. - 25 - Aaron Hanson - 1987-90
 6. - 24 - Samson Ebukam - 2013-16