Huskies 2019 Recruiting Class Regains Top 25 ranking With Latest Commitment
The latest commitment for the 2019 class nudged the Huskies slightly ahead of the Florida Gators in the recruiting rankings.
With three-star Kahuku (Hi.) linebacker Miki Ah You announcing his pledge Tuesday afternoon, UW has moved up one spot to No. 25 on Rivals and maintaining their No. 2 Pac-12 Conference rank, behind the Oregon Ducks at No. 15.
Ah You, a 6-foot-1 and 215-pounder from Hawaii, is the third prospect from the state to choose UW in the past two recruiting classes. From 2013-2017 the Huskies did not sign a single player from the Islands.
Not until last December, when three-star Pearl City (Hi.) outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui made his decision while on an official visit, did Chris Petersen and his staff land a recruit from the Islands.
Since then UW has landed two from the state for the 2019 class, three-star defensive tackle Sama Paama, a 6-foot-4 and 330-pound lineman being the first back in April with Ah You following suit in June.
Of the top 10 players in the state for the 2019 class Paama and Ah You rank No. 5 and No. 6 respectively, and the players ranked No. 1-4 each have the Huskies listed in their top list.
That includes the states top-ranked player, four-star Honolulu (Hi.) St. Louis defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele, who named his five finalists in May: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Texas and Washington. The 6-foot-4 and 287-pound prospect is ranked by Rivals as the No. 58 player in the 2019 class and the No. 2 DT.
Next on the list at No.2 is is Maninoa Tufono, a 6-foot-3 inside linebacker and the son of former Huskies LB Albert Tufono who played at UW from 1983-87. On May 7, the four-star prospect released his top 14, which included five Pac-12 schools: Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC and UW.
Tufono got the chance to become an official legacy last June when UW offered him a scholarship. At the time the four-star linebacker said having the family ties is “a big factor” and nothing has changed since then to deter his interest in the Huskies.
Ah You made a visit to Seattle at the beginning June before returning home and announcing his decision. The states No. 3 ranked prospect, four-star Kapolei (Hi.) offensive tackle Julius Buelow, has done half of that after being on campus at the same time as Ah You for the Huskies Rising Stars Camp.
Buelow, a 6-foot-7, 304-pound lineman took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame after his time at UW, and his family hopes to have a decision before the start of his senior season.
Of the top four players from Hawaii in 2019, four-star Kahuku (Hi.) OT Enokk Vimahi is the only one who has not released a list of top schools. The No. 4 ranked player from the state told Rivals back in January after receiving his offer that UW was a school of high interest due to the business program, among other factors.
UW has also offered three-star Kapolei (Hi.) LB Peni Naulu and Punahou (Honolulu, Hi.) kicker Timothy Horn for the 2019 class. Naulu is ranked as the No. 8 in-state prospect by Rivals while Horn does not have a ranking.