DaJohn Yarborough, the top interior offensive lineman in Florida, opted to commit to Cal instead of Washington.
The Washington Huskies football team was unable to go two-for-two on commitments Saturday.
At around noon PT, the Huskies secured the last "true" need of their 2027 recruiting class and earned a commitment from four-star cornerback Censere Gaylord.
Several hours after the fact, another Washington recruit, four-star interior offensive lineman DaJohn Yarborough, chose between the Huskies, the Cal Golden Bears, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles in a livestream on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel.
Yarborough's decision was arguably the biggest toss-up between UW's recent recruiting targets. Up to his commitment, the odds of each of his finalists landing him was separated by less than eight percent, per On3 Sports. Cal had the likeliest odds at 20.2% with Washington right behind at 17.7%.
The Golden Bears ended up winning out and earned the commitment.
Yarborough, who attends Basha High School in Chandler, Ariz., is ranked as the 426th-best overall player, 25th-best interior offensive lineman and ninth-best player in the Class, per the 247Sports composite.
The 6-foot-5, 340-pound lineman is also not the first player to choose the Golden Bears over the Huskies.
Cal has been a perennial competitor for Washington for several players this recruiting cycle. Four-star cornerback Kamil Loud, three-star cornerback Jeovanni Henley and four-star wide receiver Dontay Tyson Jr. are several of the players who opted for Cal while also having UW as one of their finalists.
Luckily for the Huskies, any additions on the offensive line would have been a surplus rather than outright need.
Washington landed a commitment from three-star interior offensive lineman Reis Russell on May 4. Despite being a three-star, he commanded an impressive offer list that included Georgia, Florida, Tennessee Miami, Texas A&M, Oregon, Penn State and Nebraska, among others.
In addition to Russell, the Huskies landed two more offensive linemen at the beginning of July: three-star offensive tackle Tye Kennedy and four-star interior offensive lineman Gecova Doyal. Kennedy is the son of former UW All-American lineman Lincoln Kennedy and Doyal is a local kid from Puyallup, Wash. All three linemen currently committed to Washington are considered versatile who can be built up in several positions on the line.
With Yarborough opting to head to Cal, the Huskies' '27 recruiting class stays at 24 commitments, including the aforementioned Gaylord. Before Yarborough's commitment, Washington's '27 recruiting class ranked 22nd in the country, per 247Sports, one spot ahead of the Golden Bears.
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