Chukwuerika "Erik" Ezukanma ( ; born January 25, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

High school career

Ezukanma attended Timber Creek High School in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. In 2015, as a sophomore, he was a second-team all-district selection. The next year, Ezukanma was an AP 6A first-team all-state selection and was named the District 3-6A Offensive MVP. Ezukanma finished his senior season with 37 receptions for 687 yards and nine touchdowns. On December 20, 2017, Ezukanma signed his

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

for Texas Tech as a 4-star recruit.

College career

Ezukanma saw limited playing during his freshman season, appearing in only two games. He caught his first collegiate touchdown from Colt Garret in the Red Raiders' game against Lamar. Ezukanma was added to the watch list for the

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

in the middle of the 2020 season. On November 28, against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

, Ezukanma finished with seven receptions for a career high 183 yards along with two touchdowns. At the end of the season, Ezukanma was named first-team All-Big 12. Coming into the 2021 season, Ezukanma was included on the preseason watch list for the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

and the

. He was also selected to the preseason first-team All-Big 12. Ezukanma broke his arm in the spring prior to the season, but was able to play in the team's season opener against

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, finishing the game with seven receptions for 179 yards. After the conclusion of the regular season, Ezukanma was named second-team All-Big 12. On December 23, 2021, Ezukanma announced that he would declare for the NFL draft.

College statistics

Professional career

Ezukanma was drafted by the

in the fourth round (125 overall) of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioTexas Tech Red Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezukanma, Erik Living people American football wide receivers American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas 2000 births Miami Dolphins players