Edefuan Ulofoshio watched classmates Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Brevin Jordan, and Cedric Tillman soak up all the recruiting attention at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas in 2018.
He watched seven Huskies come off the board before him in the top 100 picks. Twelve linebackers were drafted before he heard his name called.
And yet, as he did for six years on Montlake, Ulofoshio prevailed. And now, he’s an NFL player as the Buffalo Bills made sure of that on Saturday, selecting him with the No. 160 overall pick in the NFL draft.
A former walk-on at Washington, Ulofoshio forced a fumble on each of his first two career snaps on Montlake, setting the tone for a sublime career as the man in the middle of the Huskies defense.
Despite bicep and ACL injuries that forced him to miss 14 games between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he rebounded with a career season in 2023, with 94 tackles and his lone career interception (which he returned for a touchdown) en route to a National Championship berth.
At the very least, Ulofoshio will make an instant impact on special teams thanks to his relentless mentality. But he’s also a high-end coverage linebacker whose skill set meshes well with the future of the NFL, and could propel him to an important role on defense for the Bills.