Even through his commitment to to hometown school Arizona, Washington never quite left the mind of three-star defensive end Keona Wilhite. The 6-foot-5 prospect from Tucson-Salpointe has been intrigued by the possibility of playing for the Huskies since being offered by the program back in May.

He quickly set up an official visit with UW but pulled the trigger on a commitment to Wildcats before that trip took place. After seeing Kalen DeBoer's team take down his hometown school, Wilhite backed off his pledge to Arizona and reopened his recruitment.

UW jumped to the top of the list and he eventually did make it onto campus earlier this month as he saw the Huskies take down Oregon in the biggest game of the season at Husky Stadium.

A visit that left a strong impression on him leading to his Monday announcement that he will indeed be calling Seattle his future home.

"It was amazing," Wilhite said of his time on Montlake. "The atmosphere was great, the stadium even before the game started was pumping. It was amazing. ... The thing that really caught my eye was how packed the stadium was and how everybody was bought in.

"The fans were cheering on the fans, the coaches were cheering on fans, it was great."

The rivalry between Washington and the Ducks will continue in the Big Ten, and having a chance to see that matchup firsthand certainly has Wilhite excited about the future and participating in games against Oregon himself in the coming years.

"It's really intense," he said. "So, it's great."

As much as his experience in Seattle on his recent visit made an impact on his decision, it is the coaches and what they are continuing to build with the Huskies that ultimately swayed his mind toward the Huskies — in particular edges EDGEs coach Eric Schmidt.

"When I call him, I ask him what I can improve on because he watches my film," Wilhite said. "And, really he's just been mentioning how I can really improve my hands. Everything, he told me, is good. Like, my get-off and my speed. I just really need to work on my hand movements."

Wilhite was methodical in his approach the first time around taking official visits to UCLA and Oregon State before arriving at his decision. Nebraska and BYU are a couple other programs that remained in the hunt.

The Huskies remained persistent, however, and he ultimately decided that they are the right team.

Development has been important throughout the process, and that, too, played a big role in how his recruitment played out.

Wilhite is now the 15th commitment for the Huskies in the 2024 class and the third defensive end in the group alongside four-star commit Dominic Kirks and California-based recruit Ratumana Bulabalavu.

UW also added a pledge from 2025 quarterback Jackson Kollock on Monday.

Dawg Report contributor Aidan Wohl contributed to this report.