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Vega Ioane, a standout left tackle from Graham-Kapowsin High School, was selected 14th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2026 NFL Draft. Coaches recall his dominance during high school, leading his team to a perfect season and a state championship.
Even as a teenager at Graham-Kapowsin High School, Vega Ioane was a mountain of a man. 6-foot-4, over 300 pounds. Hands like bear paws. Legs like tree trunks.
Ioane (full name Olaivavega Ioane) played left tackle for Eric Kurleâs Graham-Kapowsin, protecting quarterback Joshua Wood and leading the Eagles to the 2021 Class 4A state championship. Graham-Kapowsin went 14-0 that season, beating Lake Stevens 44-7 in the state championship game and winning its games in Washington by an average margin of 41 points.
He continued to dominate at Penn State and on Thursday night, was selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens took Ioane with the 14th pick.
No one was able to slow down Graham-Kapowsin in 2021. What do opposing coaches remember about Ioane from his days at G-K? Mostly, the impossible challenge of the matchup.
Graham Kapowsinâs Alele Faapito-Leao (29) and Vega Ioane (73) relish in the cheers of the Eagleâs fans after helping their team to a 44-7 win over Lake Stevens in the State 4A championship game on Saturday afternoon at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.
Longtime Sumner coach Keith Ross, who said he was tuned into his TV and was âsuper excitedâ to see Ioane drafted on Thursday, remembers Ioaneâs sheer size.
âHow big he was,â Ross told The News Tribune. âHow sturdy he was. His balance, he was never out of balance, ever. You can get o-linemen leaning sometimes, but his base, he was so sturdy. Our rushers were like, âWe canât move him and canât get around him.â
âTo be that big, I said, âOh, this kid is the real deal.â Great technique and raw, natural genetic gifts. Scary good.â
Ross said most linemen of Ioaneâs size are usually slow. The athleticism was what set Ioane apart. Itâs why heâs NFL bound.
âUsually you canât move your feet that well when youâre that big,â Ross said. âHe was impressive.â
Vega Ioane led Graham-Kapowsin High School to a 14-0 season and the 2021 Class 4A state championship.
Vega Ioane was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens with the 14th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Vega Ioane played left tackle for Graham-Kapowsin High School.
Opposing coaches found Vega Ioane to be an impossible matchup due to his size and skill.
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Former Emerald Ridge coach Adam Schakel â who coached wide receiver Denzel Boston, who is also part of this yearâs draft class â said when the Eagles needed a first down, they looked to Ioane.
âWhen they needed yards they ran behind him,â Schakel said. âEveryone knew and it didnât matter.â
Graham-Kapowsin seniors Vega Ioane (center) and twins Curtis Hill (left) and Hunter Hill will anchor the Eagles line. They are shown during football practice at Graham-Kapowsin High School in Graham, Washington, on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.
Ioane also played on the defensive line. Schakelâs son, Jake, played quarterback from Emerald Ridge. He still remembers a hit he took one time from Ioane.
âJake said itâs the hardest hit heâs ever taken,â Schakel said, laughing. âI saw the train coming (from the sideline) but I donât know if Jake saw it coming. But he felt it.â
The 2021 Eagles went on to win a postseason game against Georgia 7A state champion Collins Hill â which featured a young Travis Hunter â in Las Vegas in the GEICO State Champions bowl series game, capping off a 15-0 season and putting 2021 Graham-Kapowsin in the conversation of the best teams to ever come out of Washington.
A 6-foot-4, 330-pound lineman, Ioane started 11 games at left guard for Penn State in 2025 and was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a second-team Associated Press All-American. He projects as a guard in the NFL, as well.