Highly Regarded Megwa Among 3 Husky Roster Defections Over the Weekend

The injured Texas running back didn't take part in Kalen DeBoer's spring practice.

Throughout the coaching change, much-publicized Texas running back Emeka Megwa never seemed long for the University of Washington football program. He was injured and a no-show for every spring practice. And now he's gone.

Over the weekend, the one-time 4-star rusher was removed from the Husky roster, along with sophomore edge rusher Jordan Lolohea and junior defensive tackle Draco Bynum, signifying their departures.

Chris Fetters first reported these moves and a UW spokesman confirmed them.

Arguably Jimmy Lake's biggest recruit (when crediting Sam Huard to the Petersen regime), the 6-foot, 213-pound Megwa showed up in Seattle last September as a big deal yet as damaged goods, presumably with a knee injury. 

A power back from Fort Worth, he chose the Huskies over Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and Arizona State, and CBS Sports streamed his decision live to a national audience. He accumulated nearly 40 offers overall, including from Notre Dame, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M and Florida.

After getting hurt in the preseason after transferring to a new high school in Timber Creek, Megwa graduated early and arrived in Montlake. It was intimated that he came to use the UW medical facilities and get healthy.

However, Lake denied that he had encouraged Megwa to make that decision, suggesting it was all the young runner's doing.

The big back clearly was a weight-room devotee, posting a well-muscled photo of himself before spring football began. 

Emeka Megwa posted this photo before spring football began / UW Athletics

Megwa played three seasons for Nolan Catholic High in Fort Worth and rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 45 touchdowns. He shared in a private-school state championship in 2020 and was a first-team all-state and all-district selection. He rushed for 1,786 yards and 27 touchdowns as a sophomore alone in 2019.

Lake and his UW coaching staff were notably vague whenever asked about Megwa's progress, with former running backs coaching Keith Bhonapha saying only that the newcomer was catching footballs at practice. 

Teammates later confirmed that Megwa wasn't able to practice, was subjected to a second surgery this past spring and had returned home. 

While every other injured Husky showed up for spring football as a spectator, Megwa never joined in. 

New Husky coach Kalen DeBoer said this past spring only that Megwa wouldn't play again until well into the coming season. One has to wonder how serious the injury was for him moving forward and competing at a high level again.

Jordan Lolohea and Ryan Bowman arrived for 2021 spring practice.  / UW Athletics

Lolohea's time with the UW football team lasted two seasons following a two-year Mormon mission to Detroit. He was one of the oldest Huskies.

He appeared in 10 of 12 Husky games last fall as a backup edge rusher while coming off the corner and recorded 9 tackles. 

However, Lolohea appeared noticeably bogged down on the depth chart during DeBoer's spring football camp, more often playing with the third unit, and his departure was predictable. He had changed his physique, dropping 16 pounds before it began, presumably to improve his speed. He was not a good fit for what the new staff was trying to do.

The 6-foot-1, 249-pound Lolohea came to the UW from Salt Lake City's East High, where he piled up a state-leading 23 sacks for the 14-0 4A state champion Leopards in 2016.

Voi Tunuufi, Taki Taimani, Ben Roberts and Jordan Lolohea came from Salt Lake City's East High and either signed or committed to the UW. Only Tunuufi remains.  / UW

At one time, the Huskies had five players either signed or committed from Utah's largest city, including four coming from East High. That recruiting pipeline for the UW has cooled some. Only sophomore defensive lineman Voi Tunuufi remains.

Defensive linemen Taki Taimani and Ben Roberts, both from East, are at Oregon now. Taimani transferred and Roberts flipped his commitment. 

Former Husky linebacker MJ Tafisi, who played for Salt Lake City's Alta High, transferred to Utah State.

Draco Bynum (59 and Taki Taimani (94) are no longer with the UW football program, while Faatui Tuitele (99) is coming off an injury that kept him out of spring practice.  / Dan Raley

Bynum, a 6-foot-4, 282-pound defensive tackle from Wilsonville, Oregon, played in just seven games over four seasons, including the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl. He had a single tackle in his career. While a noted strongman, winning weight-lifting competitions in high school, he wasn't athletic enough to make a move up the Husky depth chart.

The UW missed on both Bynum and Noa Ngalu, defensive linemen who each left the program since spring practice ended. 

The Huskies have had 15 scholarship players exit since Lake was replaced by DeBoer.

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