The Huskies are keeping defensive lineman Tevita Nonu in Seattle after landing him over several other notable programs
The Washington Huskies football team has made a more concerted effort at keeping the state's best players in the Pacific Northwest. And they were able to do it once against for the Class of 2027.
The Huskies earned a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Tevita Nonu on Tuesday. Nonu was ranked as Washington's top player according to 247Sports' flat rankings. UW also earned a commitment from the top Washington state recruit according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, four-star wide receiver Braylon Pope.
Including Nonu's commitment, Fisch and the Huskies have landed the top player in the state for three consecutive recruiting classes: linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale (2025), defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa (2026) and Nonu/Pope ('27).
Nonu is ranked as the 245th best overall player, 26th-best defensive lineman and second best player in the state according to the 247Sports Composite. He attends O'Dea high school in Seattle and helped lead the Fighting Irish to a Washington 3A state championship last fall.
Nonu also played high school ball with Class of 2026 commit and UW true freshman defensive lineman David Schwerzel.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive lineman chose to stay in the Emerald City with Washington over offers from other notable programs such as UCLA, Michigan, Oregon, Arizona, BYU and Notre Dame, among others.
"I trust that they will make me a better player and a man," Nonu said in a story written by Rivals.com reporter Brandon Huffman following news of his commitment.
Nonu is the 15th overall commitment of the '27 recruiting class for Washington. The class is currently comprised of: Nonu, four-star defensive lineman Jon Ioane, four-star quarterback Blake Roskopf, four-star wide receiver Zerek Sidney, pope, three-star safety Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, three-star tight end Zach Albright, three-star cornerback/athlete Maurice Williams, three-star running back Jeremy Adeyanju, three-star interior offensive lineman Reis Russell, three-star defensive lineman Matamtagi Uiagalelei and three-star linebackers Isaiah Leilua, Ethan Coach, Justin Coach and Titus Osterman.
Nonu's commitment raised the Huskies' national recruiting ranking from 13th to 11th, per 247Sports rankings.
The 10 teams currently ranked ahead of Washington are, in order: Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, UCLA, Southern California (USC), Penn State, Miami, Ohio State and Kentucky.
That ranking would be the highest in program history, beating out the 12th-ranked '27 class.
Other notes
The Huskies could get another boost to their recruiting class in the near future. Several four-star wide receivers, including Osani Gayles, Tre Moore and Dontay Tyson Jr., have named UW as finalists. The team is also reportedly ramping up recruitment for another four-star wideout, Zion White.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our HUSKIES ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Washington fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
