NFL DRAFT: Eastern Washington’s Samson Ebukam One of FCS’ Top Risers

Cooper Kupp could very well be drafted tonight, and Eastern Washington fans will rejoice. Then, they'll have to get a good night's sleep because they'll probably be celebrating again on Saturday.

EWU's Samson Ebukam is one of the hottest FCS prospects right now in terms of that lovely description "trending upwards". NFL scouts have been salivating for weeks over this hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end candidate. Based on his numbers, coaching staffs might be smart to invent a position for him.

At 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, he ran a 4.45-second time in the 40-yard dash at his pro day, along with an incredible 10 feet, 10 inches performance in the broad jump and 24 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. It's the sort of all-around 'measurables' effort that'll make heads spin.

But for those of us who follow FCS football, Ebukam is hardly an unknown quantity. In the Eagles' 2016 upset of Washington State, he had 6 tackles and two TFLs. And how about Richmond in the national quarterfinals? Try 8 tackles and 4 TFLs, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, a recovered fumble and an INT. And the next week in the national semis against FCS runner up Youngstown State? A sack, 2 hurries, a pass broken up, you name it. The bigger the stakes, the better he played. He's a true defensive side playmaker.

And here he is … with NFL.com listing him earlier this week as a 4th round draft pick, CBS says a 6th round pick. And NFLDraftScout.com? The year-round scouting service has him going anywhere between the 5th round and the 7th round.

Ebukam planned all of this, right?

"Nah, not at all," Ebukam told HERO Sports, just hours before the draft started on Thursday. "I thought it was a small school and that I wouldn't get the opportunity that everybody else got. I was there to get my schooling done and get a degree. But my sophomore year, I thought I'm going to shoot for the NFL. I think I can make it. It was actually in the offseason. I just remember thinking, I can hang with the big dogs. I need to do this, and it'll help my family out too. So I put everything I had into it after that."

RELATED: Which FCS prospects are consensus draft picks in Mock Drafts? Take a look

RELATED: Podcast – HERO Sports' Jim Oxley and Brian McLaughlin breakdown where the FCS prospects may land

Ebukam has turned heads in recent weeks like no other FCS prospect. He has traveled to showcase his abilities to the Bengals, as well as the Packers, but told HERO Sports that he didn't want to get into who he thought may be the team that likes him most. He said, as many prospects are saying right now, that the poker faces are on in all directions. Everybody's keeping it close to the shoulder pads.

"I can't really say who wants me most, they've all called except for five teams," said the Nigerian-born star, whose only college options out of high school were EWU and his hometown school, Portland State in Oregon. "They've been burning up the phone. I'm getting to where I just want to get the call that tells me I'm a part of a team. In January, I wasn't really getting anything. Maybe two or three teams were talking to me. But after the Pro Days, everything has shot up exponentially."

Ebukam said the publicity surrounding Kupp — who could have left school early last year and would have been drafted in 2016 — has helped with his own draft stock. Scouts were around more frequently because of his elite pass-catching teammate, and it has also helped Ebukam and Kupp's fellow receivers, Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill. Now, the big question is this: When Ebukam reaches the NFL, where will he line up?

"For all the teams I spoke to, they know that I'm an undersized D-end, so outside linebacker would be the first choice for me," Ebukam said. "That's probably where I'd be in a 3-4 defense, sort of a slash D-end. But a 4-3 defense, I'd probably be more of a blitz OLB. I'm the kind of guy who knows how to get to the quarterback."

That knack is exactly why he'll have a nice-paying job less than a week from now.

EBUKAM'S CAREER AT EASTERN WASHINGTON