Inside The Huskies

UW Gains Commit from Spanaway Lake DB After Previous Miss

D'Aryhian Clemons picks the Huskies after former teammate Jasiah Wagoner passed on them.

Dan Raley

D'Aryhian Clemons is shown on his UW visit.
D'Aryhian Clemons is shown on his UW visit. / UW

The University of Washington football program missed out on the first high-end cornerback to emerge from Spanaway Lake High School east of Tacoma, but the Huskies have secured the second one.

On Monday, D'Aryhian Clemons -- considered one of the fastest players in the state -- announced he will play for Jedd Fisch's team, this decision coming two years after his former teammate Jasiah Wagoner passed on the UW and Kalen DeBoer's staff in favor of Oklahoma.

Clemons, from the Class of 2025, and Wagoner, who's since transferred to the University of California, played together as corners at times in the Sentinels secondary in 2021 and 2022.

At 6-foot and 180 pounds, Clemons is an inch taller and four pounds heavier than his former teammate and no doubt faster with a 4.38-second 40-yard dash time. Wagoner was rated a 4-star player in 2023, while Clemons holds a 3-star ranking that could elevate.

Clemons chose the Huskies after receiving offers from West Virginia, Louisville, Arizona State, WSU and even Cal, and he resisted the chance to team up again with Wagoner in Berkeley. He becomes the fifth player to commit to the UW coming out of the biggest recruiting weekend of the summer in Montlake.

Wagoner played just last season for Oklahoma and appeared in eight games, but apparently didn't like it and moved on to Cal.

In Clemons, the Huskies have landed a dynamic player who was a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore for a 7-3 Spanaway Lake team, rushing 152 times for 1,037 yards and 7 touchdowns before concentrating more on defense in 2023.

Last season, he ran the ball just 68 times for 371 yards and 4 scores as the Sentinels finished 4-6. Yet in the season opener, Clemons showed off his two-way versatility by rushing for a pair of touchdowns and returning an interception 25 yards for a third score in a 26-21 victory over Gig Harbor.

Overall, Clemons has played in 26 games for Spanaway Lake, 17 alongside Wagoner, beginning as a freshman. He has 35 career tackles and a pair of interceptions. Maybe someday he and Wagoner will meet up again in a football game, showing off their advanced cornerback skills.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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