Who is Special Teams Standout and True Freshman Chika Ebunoha?

Ebunoha has been described by one of his high school coaches as "one of the most athletic people you will ever meet"

On Monday, BYU assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Ed Lamb appeared on Coordinators' Corner with Greg Wrubell. During the interview, Lamb named true freshman Chika Ebunoha the special teams MVP of fall camp. 

"He did a wonderful job of just coming in and he plays full speed all the time," Lamb said on Ebunoha. "He's one of the young corners that we're so excited about and a lot of those corners are fighting in the defensive part of the game and trying to learn the system. Chika just goes out and treats special teams like that's his playground and it's been obvious to the whole team. This is not me picking him out of some corner and highlighting, it's really obvious how much he enjoys it, how good he is at it. So we're gonna see him [on special teams]."

Lamb says Ebunoha will be one of the gunners on both the kickoff team and the punt team. 

A few hours later, Ebunoha was one of only six true freshman that appeared on the depth chart at cornerback. He was listed as a third-string cornerback alongside Korbyn Green. This is Chika's first season playing cornerback full time which makes his appearance on the depth chart especially noteworthy. In high school, he lined up at safety, linebacker, cornerback, and wide receiver.

So who is Chika Ebunoha and how did he end up at BYU?

After an official visit to BYU earlier this year, Charles "Chika" Ebunoha announced his commitment as a preferred walk-on with the opportunity to earn a scholarship. Ebunoha is a versatile athlete that prepped in Tuscon, Arizona. He played on both sides of the football for Marana High School last season, but BYU recruited him as a defensive back.

Ebunoha was described by one of his high school coaches as "one of the most athletic people you will ever meet." Outside of football, Chika also participates in track and field. To put his athleticism into context, at one track meet last year he took first place in the 100 meter sprint, the long jump, and the triple jump. As a sophomore, Ebunoha ran the fastest 40 time on Marana's varsity team with a time of 4.59. In 2021, he ran a 4.42 during team workouts. He also recorded a 43 inch vertical leap.

The preferred walk-on program has consistently produced contributors for BYU during Kalani Sitake's tenure, and it appears that Ebunoha could be the next in line to from from PWO to contributor to scholarship player. Ebunoha has terrific upside and versatility that BYU will use as early as the opener against USF.

Follow us for future coverage:

Facebook - @BYUSportsIllustrated

Twitter - @SI_BYU and Casey Lundquist at @casey_lundquist

Instagram - @BYU_SI