Herald news services
Elijah Qualls had to wait longer than expected to be drafted on Saturday, but the Philadelphia Eagles eventually selected the former Washington Huskies defensive lineman with the 214th overall pick late in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL draft.
Listed at 6-foot-1 and 313 pounds, Qualls, a Sacramento native, moved to Petaluma, California, when he was 16-years-old and starred both as a defender and running back at Casa Grande High School. At Washington, Qualls backed up All-America nose tackle Danny Shelton as a redshirt freshman, then moved into a starting role as a sophomore and junior.
Last season, the Huskies took advantage of Qualls’ rare athleticism for his size by moving him all around the defensive front, even standing him up at times and using him as an edge rusher after he played mostly at nose tackle in 2015. He finished the 2016 season with 38 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks, and was voted first-team All-Pac-12 by the league’s coaches. He finished his three-year college career with 77 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 38 games.
Qualls became the fifth UW player selected in this year’s draft, the most Huskies picked in a single draft since they had five players taken in 2001. He joins former UW teammates John Ross III (No. 9 to Cincinnati), Kevin King (No. 33 to Green Bay), Budda Baker (No. 36 to Arizona) and Sidney Jones (No. 43, also to Philadelphia).
The Los Angeles Rams selected Eastern Washington outside linebacker Samson Ebukam in the fourth round with the 125th pick overall. An All-American in 2016, a freshman All-American in 2013 and a three-time All-Big Sky selection, Ebukam had 24 sacks in his career to rank sixth in school history. He finished with 188 total tackles in 53 games (38 as a starter).
Washington State defensive back Shalom Luani was selected in the seventh round as the No. 221 overall pick by the Oakland Raiders.
Luani played two seasons at Washington State after transferring from San Francisco City College, earning All-Pac-12 honors both seasons including first-team accolades in 2016. The Pago Pago, American Samoa native recorded 159 career tackles including 12 for loss and eight interceptions in his two seasons with the Cougars.
The News Tribune’s Christian Caple contributed to this report.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
