The Huskies lost out on a blue chip prospect to their Pacific Northwest rivals
The Washington Huskies football team has been putting together what is on-track to be the best recruiting class in program history.
Washington's latest recruiting wins comes on the heels of a stellar '26 recruiting class, which ranked 12th in the nation — the highest ranking earned by a recruiting class in program history.
The Huskies are on-pace to exceed that mark with the '27 graduates, but suffered their first big "loss" on the recruiting trail.
Four-star defensive lineman Zane Rowe, who was predicted to commit to Washington according to 247Sports' Crystal Ball, chose instead to commit to UW's Pacific Northwest arch-rivals, the Oregon Ducks.
Rowe was an attendee at the Huskies' junior day earlier this month. Washington, Oregon, North Carolina and Oklahoma were the final universities he was considering.
Rowe is listed at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds. He's listed as the 93rd-best overall player, ninth-best defensive lineman and 12th-best player in Texas in the '27 class according to 247Sports.
The Denton, Texas, native was also a participant in the Under Armour High School All-American game in January.
Rowe is one of several four-star prospects (or better) that had both Oregon and Washington listed among his respective final schools.
Other blue chip prospects considering both the Ducks and the Huskies include four-star cornerback Josiah Molden and four-star quarterback Sione Kaho.
Molden attends high school in West Linn, Ore., and has familial ties to both Oregon and Washington. Kaho attends high school in Tacoma, Wash., just under 40 miles away from the Dawgs' campus in Seattle.
The Huskies' '27 recruiting class is currently ranked above the Ducks according to 247Sports.
Currently, 247Sports' top 10 recruiting classes are, in order: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Louisville, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska and Texas Tech.
UW head coach Jedd Fisch has a reputation as a solid-to-great recruiter. The Huskies and the Ducks have both attempted to recruit dozens of the same players since Fisch was hired.
If Fisch and the rest of the coaching staff is able to land either Molden or Kaho or both, it would represent a continued competitiveness on the recruiting trail and keep Washington ranked ahead of Oregon.
Class of '26 five-star offensive lineman Kodi Greene, the highest-ranked player in UW's class, flipped from the Ducks to the Huskies.
The last time Washington finished with a recruiting class ranked ahead of Oregon was 2018, per 247Sports. The Huskies ranked 13th in that year's recruiting cycle and the Ducks ranked 17th.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our HUSKIES on 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!