Inside The Huskies

With 21 Commits, UW Football Still Lacking in One Area

The Huskies haven't been able to find a dominant player for this spot in nearly a decade.

Dan Raley

Zaydrius Rainey-Sale is the No. 1 recruit in Washington state.
Zaydrius Rainey-Sale is the No. 1 recruit in Washington state. / UW

Two weeks from fall camp, with Big Ten media days first getting in the way, the University of Washington football program holds 21 oral commitments for 2025 in what seems like the longest recruiting cycle in memory.

Twelve are offensive players. They hail from nine different states. Eight are from California. Five are from Washington state. Six are 4-star players. Three have hyphenated names.

People who closely monitor this sort of thing seem fairly satisfied with the efforts so far of Jedd Fisch's staff, with 247Sports ranking the Huskies 19th in the latest college football talent grab and On3 putting the UW at No. 21 nationally.

Though some positions might change, Fisch and his coaches have scholarship promises from 4 wide receivers, 3 offensive linemen, 3 edge rushers, 3 linebackers, 2 quarterbacks, 2 tight ends, 2 cornerbacks, a running back and a solitary defensive tackle.

The latter position -- a dominant DT -- seems to be the real Husky recruiting sore spot for nearly the past decade, stretching back to the early day signees for Chris Petersen, with the program unable to land someone who affects the game in a manner in which previous UW linemen Vita Vea, Greg Gaines, Danny Shelton and, going way back, Steve Emtman did. The last interior D-lineman recruit of real note who turned out highly productive was Levi Onwuzurike, a 2016 signee who became a 2019 first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

In the CFP national championship game against Michigan, the UW really was just one player, a hardened defensive tackle, away from making it a lot more competitive. It's hard to win against anyone when you give up 303 yards rushing.

A brief look at the UW's 21 commits, ranked in the order of them offering their program pledges:

HUSKY CLASS OF 2025

1. Dash Beierly, QB, 6-1, 215, 3 stars, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, Calif. -- Beierly was the first Fisch commit in Seattle, plays for SoCal powerhouse.

2. Raiden Vines-Bright, WR, 6-0, 190, 3 stars, IMG, Bradenton, Fla. -- An Arizona native, he'll finish up at this elite football factory in Florida before coming north.

3. Jake Flores, OL, 6-6, 275, 3 stars, JSerra Catholic HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. -- This guy plays every position up front.

4. Julian McMahan, RB, 6-2, 195, 3 stars, Monte Vista HS, Danville, Calif. -- McMahan hails from a town that previously sent QB Jake Haener, PK Peyton Henry and center Corey Luciano to the UW.

5. Treston "Kini" McMillan, QB, 5-10, 210, 3 stars, Mililani HS, Mililani, Hawaii -- Fisch obviously likes gritty little guys at this position.

6. Devin Hyde, ER, 6-5, 240, 3 stars, Menlo-Atherton, HS, Atherton, Calif. -- This guy already has a lot of size for an edge.

7. Champ Taulealea, OL, 6-4, 325, 4 stars, Valley Christian School, San Jose, Calif. -- One of the prizes of this recruiting class, wanted by many.

8. Victor Sanchez-Hernandez, ER, 6-5, 240, 3 stars, Kamiak HS, Mukilteo, Wash. -- Pair this guy on the edge with with Hyde when they're fully maxed out physically and it could be intimidating.

9. Dezmen Roebuck, WR, 5-10, 170, 3 stars, Marana HS, Marana, Ariz. -- This guy, a state record-holder in receptions, catches everything that comes his way.

10. Donovan Robinson, LB, 6-3, 210, 3 stars, Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Ill. -- He plays safety but appears headed to linebacker when he moves to Montlake.

11. Baron Naone, TE, 6-4, 235, 4 stars, West Linn HS, West Linn, Ore. -- His commit started moving the Huskies to the top 20 in the recruiting rankings.

12. D'Aryhian Clemons, CB, 6-0, 180, 3 stars, Spanaway Lake HS, Spanaway, Wash. -- This guy reportedly has 4.38 speed.

13. Jonathan Epperson, LB, 6-0, 210, 4 stars, Auburn Riverside HS, Auburn, Wash. -- People envision the speedy LB pairing of him and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale creating a lot of problems for opponents.

14. Dominic, Macon, DL 6-3, 295, 3 stars, Nelson HS, Happy Valley, Ore. -- This player is the dig-deep find of this group.

15. Vander Ploog, TE, 6-6, 215, 4 stars, Troy HS, Fullerton, Calif. -- He has the best name of these recruits and significant talent.

16. Caleb Smith, ER, 6-5, 240, 3 stars, Parker HS, Montgomery, Ala. -- He represents a SEC-area recruiting breakthrough.

17. Deji Ajose, WR, 6-2, 190, 3 stars, Bishop O'Dowd HS, Oakland, Calif. -- Another speed guy, he'll boost the receiving corps.

18. Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, LB, 6-3, 225, 4 stars, Bethel HS, Spanaway, Wash. -- This guy is considered the crown jewel of this class and turned down Florida State.

19. Lowen Coleman-Brusa, OL, 6-4, 290, 3 stars, Kennedy HS, Burien, Wash. -- This lineman restored the Kennedy-UW connection that had fallen off some.

20. Ramonz Adams, CB, 6-1, 160, 3 stars, Bastrop HS, Bastrop, Texas -- The Huskies got back in the Lone Star state to land a former Texas Tech commit.

21. Chris Lawson, WR, 6-1, 185, 4 stars, Archbishop Riordan, San Francisco, Calif. -- Comparisons to Jalen McMillan will accompany this receiver to UW.

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

Published
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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