Former Huskies OT Max Iheanachor Projects as NFL Draft First-Round Pick

by Cerwin D Haynes

(ASU photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

A very special day is shaping up next month for East Los Angeles College football, the overall athletic department, and particularly for one former Husky.

Not since 2013 has a former ELAC football player gone on to be drafted into the NFL, when CB Jeremy Harris - who transferred from ELAC to New Mexico State University - was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. 

That is projected to change next month: former East LA offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, who transferred onto and excelled at Arizona State University, is expected to be drafted onto an NFL team anywhere between the late first and early/mid second rounds depending on final draft positioning. The NFL Draft takes place over three days, from April 23-25. 

The 6'6, 321 lineman did not play football in high school, instead, he played basketball at King/Drew HS. But when Athletic Director and then-football head coach Bobby Godinez got wind of him, one look was all it took.

"Have an open mind and believe in me," pitched Godinez, "and you will play on Sundays".

Iheanachor started showing up on various draft board websites during his senior year at ASU. But two particular events really boosted his stock over the course of the past month-plus: the Senior Bowl and the NFL Draft Combine. His performance at this all-star event for college seniors put him firmly on many NFL teams' radars as an early Day 2 pick. But then came the Combine, a multi-day event where teams run draft prospects through a multitude of drills and simulations to measure physical traits. The Husky-turned-Sun Devil flashed impressively; he clocked a top time during the 40-yard dash for an offensive lineman at 4.91 seconds, making him a trending topic among teams and national media alike.

His former basketball attributes and abilities are frequently cited as lending to his desirable attributes, including good lateral speed and feet to mirror the movement of defensive linemen. His performance at the Combine drew his several comparisons to present-day NFL offensive tackles, with talk that Iheanachor may now be a late first-round pick come next month. This would make Iheanachor the first ever Husky to be selected on Day 1 of the draft.

"It's crazy," opined Godinez. "To think that we're going to have someone not just drafted into the NFL, but possibly in the first round."

"But that's just a testament to all the hard work Max has put in. He bought in, and he saw the vision."

(More to come on Iheanachor in future releases)

HUSKY BITS

• The last former Husky to play in the NFL is actually not Harris, but TE Anthony Denham, who was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 2018. Denham went undrafted back in 2014, but signed with the Houston Texans that year.