They were lined up just like Netflix movies, scheduled one right after the other.
Yet these were staged college football announcements on Friday for desired 2025 recruits — presented on a Youtube channel or an Instagram page and sometimes in an awkward manner with long silence preceding the moment of reveal — and each of these guys included the University of Washington among their final choices.
In more cases than not, there wasn’t a happy ending for those tuning in from Seattle — the Huskies went 1-for-4.
The UW received a rousing commitment from 3-star linebacker Caleb Smith from Birmingham, Alabama, who chose the Huskies over Purdue, but the Huskies lost out on 3-star offensive lineman Darius Afalava from Lehi, Utah, to Oklahoma; 4-star defensive lineman Josiah Sharma from Sacramento, California, to Oregon; and 5-star cornerback Dijon Lee from Mission Viejo, California, to Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama. team
The good news about these latest recruiting developments is the Huskies and their ever watchful fan base simply can move on and do this all over again on Monday with three more decisions coming in a similar fashion, involving 4-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale from Spanaway, Washington; 4-star edge rusher Chinedu Onyeagoro from Los Angeles; and 4-star edge rusher Smith Orogbo from the Houston area.
Rainey-Sale is choosing from among Florida State, UCLA and Washington; Onyeagoro is picking from among Florida, SMU, UCLA and the Huskies; and Orogbo will make his selection from among Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and the UW.
The decision by the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Caleb Smith, who plays for Parker High just 50 miles up the road from Tuscaloosa and the Alabama football program, was particularly encouraging to the Huskies because it moved their recruiting footprint more southeast than ever. The UW has had just one Alabama player on the roster in recent times in departed transfer linebacker Cam Bright, who came from Montgomery.
The mild surprise of the guys passing on the UW on Friday was Afalava, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound interior-line prospect from Lehi, Utah, who seemed to get along famously with Brennan Carroll, the UW offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach, at least when looking at their multiple publicity photos together.
He was such a UW priority that Carroll traveled to Afalava’s Skybridge High, located halfway between Salt Lake City and Provo, to meet with him within two weeks of Fisch’s staff getting hired this past January.
Afalava is the son of Al Afalava, who was a four-year starting free safety for Oregon State in 2005-08 and played three seasons in the NFL, and someone who went 4-0 agaisnst the UW, 3-0 at Husky Stadium. Interestingly, the younger Afalava stands six inches taller and weighs 110 pounds more than his dad when comparing their playing weights.
It seems Afala a gets his height from his mother, Jerrell, who is well over 6 feet tall and was a high school basketball center in Hawaii. She, in fact, accompanied her son on his recruiting visit to UCLA and posed with him for those requisite publicity shots.
Afalava chose the Sooners over Michigan State, his home state Utah and Washington. He also had offers from Michigan, LSU, Nebraska, Oregon and Ole Miss.
The one that never seemed likely for the Huskies was Lee, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound corner, because 5-star recruits tend to go to the powerhouse programs elsewhere. He picked DeBoer’s new team over Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and the UW.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Sharma, who previously committed to the UW and DeBoer’s staff on the day of the Sugar Bowl against Texas, also seemed unlikely to pledge to the Huskies again because his recruitment really took off after he de-committed. He chose the Ducks over Alabama, Texas and Washington, passing on DeBoer the second time around.
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