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Nnamdi Egbuaba has his shot at LB for Maryland football in 2016

He played some on special teams last year, but there should be an opening for him at linebacker this season.

Maryland football starts its season in 42 days. Until then, we’re profiling every player on the roster in our Profiles in Terpage series.

Nnamdi Egbuaba, linebacker

Height: 6’0

Weight: 224 pounds

Year: Redshirt sophomore

High school: St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

Jersey No.: 31

How he got to College Park

Egbuaba has one of the longest journeys on the team. He was born in Nigeria, where he lived until 2012, when he came over to America. He attended St. Frances school in Baltimore and accepted a scholarship to Maryland, the first and only school to offer him. He redshirted his first season at Maryland, then received snaps on special teams in 2015, playing in each of the final six games of the season.

All that pales when compared to what he got to do once classes finished this spring. Egbuaba got to visit his family in Nigeria for the first time since coming to America.

Via The Washington Post’s Roman Stubbs (read the whole story here):

“We were just hugging for a straight 20 minutes. She was just crying, she was so excited. I was happy too. I cried a little bit,” Egbuaba said. “It was a joyful moment for my family.”

His mother’s house does not have electricity, so at night the family would sit on the porch and catch up. Egbuaba told them about his 3.6 grade-point average as an information science major, and the progress he was making in the strange sport that had given him an opportunity in America four years earlier.

High School highlights

Egbuaba doesn’t have too many highlights yet at Maryland, so here’s some tape of him at St. Frances.

2016 prospectus

He has a real chance to get playing time at linebacker for Maryland, as it’s unclear who will be starting next to Jermaine Carter Jr. and Jalen Brooks. Even if he doesn’t get that starting WILL spot, it’s hard to see a situation where Egbuaba doesn’t carve out a role for himself.

What a dream season would look like

He claims a starting spot in training camp, entrenching himself as a three-year starter for the Terps.

Next in the series...

Our next subject attended Linganore High School and was selected to represent Maryland in the Big 33 game.

Standings

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