Warren Sapp’s daughter, Mercedes, has forever been her daddy’s girl. The 27-year-old’s father has been one of the most loyal staffers in Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. Sapp, being the CU graduate assistant, played a huge role in keeping the players on the right track. Till now, Mercedes too had been a hardcore Colorado fan. So much so, we have seen her getting overprotective about the Buffs quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, and his NFL future. But turns out that someone new has found a place in the young lady’s heart.

And that’s none other than the former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. As Mercedes hypes the wide receiver, the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach, Brian Hartline, fuels the hype. Why wouldn’t he? After all, Egbuka carries Hartline’s legacy in the pro league as the quintuple. 

After his stint as the defensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sapp got a coaching break as Colorado’s grad assistant. And he has been one of the biggest hypemen of Shedeur. As expected, his daughter, Mercedes, followed her dad. Now that the Buffs quarterback is in a tough spot when it comes to his first-round pick on the Draft Day, Mercedes had shared her thoughts.

On April 18, she had posted an IG story where she sent a message in the Buffs quarterback’s way. “I really hope & pray he doesn’t go to the Saints. But if he does, we’ll see you in the fall my guy.” However, as the Draft Day drew near, Mercedes had now become the biggest fan of Egbuka. So much so, that the Ohio State wide receiver made his way to her chat with her bestie.

On April 24, Mercedes posted a screenshot of her messenger on her IG story. She had been chatting with someone whose name read, “baby chaos coordinator 💕,” and Mercedes captioned the post as “🤭🤭🤭 when two girls LOVE football.” The conversation went like this, Sapp’s daughter sent, “OH,” “I,” “O.” The bestie in no way liked how Mercedes chased Egbuka. So, she light-heartedly replied, “WAIT IM BEHIND WHOO.” Mercedes kept on teasing a little more, “LMAOOO EGBUKA FROM OHIO STATE WR.” And the other person showed some frustration. “NO WAYYYYY.” But Sapp’s daughter kept on simping over Egbuka and wrote, “NEEEEEEEEEEEED THAT YESSSS MAAAM HAHAHAHA.” Now, Egbuka is getting so much hype, is this surprising?

Not at all. After all, he’s a generational talent—that’s the word that aptly describes the 19-year-old Ohio State wide receiver. Maybe he is at the right place, at the right time. After all, Ryan Day’s program already boasts a serious edge when it comes to their wide receivers, so much so that they’ve earned the “Wide Receiver U” moniker.

However, with this legacy came heavy expectations. But Egbuka was able to live up to the standards. He was he school’s all-time leader in catches and receiving yards, racking up 81 catches for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Now, the time has come to prove himself in the NFL as he gets selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 19th. And guess who is the proudest at the moment? None other than Hartline.    

Brian Hartline’s WR factory strikes again with Emeka Egbuka 

Egbuka was part of the champion team that won OSU its ninth national title in January. With the 19th pick of the first round, the Buccaneers selected him, making Egbuka the first wideout the team has taken in the opening round since current General Manager Jason Licht began his tenure. The last time Tampa Bay had taken a wide receiver in the first round was in 2014, when they landed Mike Evans as seventh overall. As much as it’s a celebration in Todd Bowles’ squad, it’s an absolute proud moment for Egbuka’s former coach, Hartline. 

On April 24, the official Ohio State Football page on X posted, “Emeka Egbuka becomes @brianhartline 5th 1st Round WR. Being the 19th Pick of the 2025 NFL Draft 📈 #DevelopedHere | #WRU.” As a wide receivers coach, Hartline has cemented himself not only as a top recruiter. At the same time, he has left his mark as an elite talent developer. Having been developed by Hartline, wide receivers including Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Marvin Harrison Jr. went off as first-round picks. 

Wilson (No. 10 overall, New York Jets), Olave (No. 11, New Orleans Saints) were selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. Smith-Njigba (No. 20, Seattle Seahawks) was a first-round pick in 2023. Then came Harrison Jr., who became the highest-drafted wide receiver in Ohio State history (No. 4, Arizona Cardinals) in 2024. Kudos to Emeka Egbuka; he did not disappoint Brian Hartline. And how could the coach now celebrate this big win? He then re-shared the Ohio State Football Page’s post. Ohio State’s NFL takeover? Still going strong.