Graham-Kapowsin Guard Olaivavega Ioane Continues WA's Offensive Line Dynasty in NFL Draft

Olaivavega Ioane made Washington state high school football proud Thursday night when the Baltimore Ravens selected the Graham-Kapowsin High School alum with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound guard from Penn State became the third consecutive year an offensive lineman from Washington has heard his name called in the first round, cementing the state's reputation as a pipeline for elite offensive line talent heading to professional football.

Building on Graham-Kapowsin's Legacy

Ioane's path to the NFL began in Tacoma, where he dominated as a senior left tackle for the Eagles' historic 2021 Class 4A state championship team. That Graham-Kapowsin squad went 15-0, steamrolling through the WIAA playoffs with devastating efficiency. The Eagles capped their perfect season with a statement victory in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series against Georgia 7A powerhouse Collins Hill, a team featuring current Jacksonville Jaguars two-way star Travis Hunter. It was the kind of dominance that put Ioane on the recruiting radar of major college programs.

At Penn State, Ioane evolved from a high school tackle prospect into an elite guard. He made 32 starts during his collegiate career and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this past season along with a second-team AP All-American selection. That pedigree made him attractive to NFL scouts evaluating the guard position, and Baltimore nabbed him as the fourth offensive lineman drafted overall and the first guard off the board Thursday night.

Washington's Offensive Line Dominance

Ioane joins an exclusive club of Washington state high school standouts making immediate NFL impact at the offensive line position. Last year, Josh Conerly Jr., a Seattle native who starred at Rainer Beach High School before playing offensive tackle at Oregon, was selected No. 29 overall by the Washington Commanders in 2025. The year before, Mount Tahoma High School product Taliese Fuaga, a Tacoma native who played offensive tackle at Oregon State, was selected No. 14 overall by the New Orleans Saints in 2024.

Three consecutive years of first-round offensive linemen from Washington state represents an extraordinary run of success for the region's high school football programs. It speaks to the caliber of coaching, competition, and player development happening in WIAA programs across the state, particularly in the Tacoma and Seattle areas.

Ioane's selection continues a winning tradition that began at Graham-Kapowsin, where the Eagles' strength and physicality up front remain the foundation of their football program's success moving forward.

This article was created with AI assistance. Stats and results sourced from public records.