Any Other Year, Bonner Would Have Been UW's Most Touted Recruit

In any other recruiting cycle, Brian Bonner would have been the most talked-about prospect for the University of Washington football team.

Yet being second actually proved to be a blessing for the 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back, a 4-star recruit from Valencia, California, which is north of Los Angeles.

He took a backseat in attention to 5-star Kodi Greene, another SoCal player only with original Northwest roots, who will block for Bonner.

Once both are in Montlake, Greene can show Bonner all around town, as well as the way to the end zone.

Yet Bonner from Valencia High School is a certifiable football talent in his own right, a franchise player per se, a guy who narrowed his final eight college choices to Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington, for largely one reason.

Reluctant to compare Bonner to any other rusher in particular, Fisch had no trouble finding a speed barometer.

He linked him to Jordan Washington, the Huskies' redshirt freshman runner and fastest player on the roster, and he of the 68-yard track-meet touchdown recently against Purdue.

"He has similar speed as Jordan -- times speed in the 100 [meters] in California," Fisch said. "Both of them are in the sub 10.3 [seconds] range."

Congratulations to senior Brian Bonner for making his commitment to the University of Washington official today, signing his National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career in Seattle!🤘☔ pic.twitter.com/PYpvwI4s64
— Valencia Athletics (@VHSVikingSports) December 3, 2025

Once Bonner reached the 10.4 level as a track athlete in 2024 is when the pursuit of him as a football player really accelerated, as well, and he readily knew that.

“My recruitment started to blow up,” Bonner told the Los Angeles Times. “They were really impressed by speed and my football form backed up my speed. The best way to determine how fast someone is is by track times. People can see how fast you are as a player and it shows how important speed is to coaches.”

Brian Bonner and Scottie Graham shared a recruiting image from the running back's Montlake visit. | UW

Yet while they get from point A to point B in a similar manner, the difference between Bonner and Washington's 5-foot-11, 185-pound Washington is measured on a scale.

"He's got great size, coming in probably 15 to 20 pounds heavier than Jordan did when we got him," Fisch pointed out.

BREAKING: Four-Star RB Brian Bonner Jr. has Committed to Washington, he tells me for @rivals

The 6’0 190 RB from Santa Clarita, CA chose the Huskies over UCLA, Penn State, & Nebraska

He’s ranked as the No. 4 RB in 2026 ☔️https://t.co/gTvp2CvfNO pic.twitter.com/SsT3EuQPAT
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 8, 2025

Bonner emerges from a season in which he rushed 113 times for 1,051 yards, or 9.3 per carry, with 15 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 525 yards and five more TDs. As a junior, he gained 1,493 yards and scored 25 touchdowns on 197 carries and had 40 catches for 498 yards.

All of this led to him being rated as the No.10 prospect in the state of California, the No. 6 running back in the nation and the 84th overall recruit for the Class of 2026, according to On3.

"He's got great vision, he's very elusive and he loves football," Fisch said.

Brian Bonner. pic.twitter.com/tppK3UcbhY
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) August 30, 2025

So Brian Bonner, successfully recruited by running-backs coach Scottie Graham, will come to Washington with an excess amount of accolades.

He might be the program's most highly promoted incoming rusher since Napoleon Kaufman joined the Huskies out of Southern California, specifically Lompoc, with a similar build-up more than three decades ago.

Just don't ask Fisch to provide any such label for him.

"He's an all-around great get for the program," the coach said. "I thought coach Graham did a fantastic job in recruiting him. I don't want to say he's like someone, but his skills are pretty special."

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