Huskies Can't Have Enough O'Dea Players, Offer Cornerback
It's easy to get caught up in all of the daring, young football talent coming out of O'Dea High School these days in the heart of Seattle, which is located just 4.2 miles and a short Lyft ride from Husky Stadium.
This is the place that in recent years has supplied running back Myles Gaskin to the University of Washington to become the Huskies' all-time leading rusher and punter Race Porter, who now stands as the school's all-time best player at that position.
The UW football roster currently is stocked with more O'Dea alums than from any other school in scholarship cornerback Mishael Powell and offensive guard Owen Prentice, plus determined walk-ons in inside linebackers Ruperake Fuavai and Styles Siva-Tu'u, and edge rusher Milton Hopkins Jr.
O'Dea has no shortage of highly-recruited, college-bound players, especially when considering the potentially sterling class of 2024 — the guys who are merely sophomores in their class standing.
There is mammoth offensive tackle Isendre Ahfua, all 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds of him, who has an Alabama, Georgia, LSU and, of course, the Huskies, among his 16 offers so far. Remember, he is only a 10th-grader.
Next is slippery running back Jason Brown, who has Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and, naturally, the UW among his 14 scholarship proposals to date. What sophomore slump?
These guys are the biggest headliners, the marquee players, projected to be can't-miss 5-star prospects.
Yes, but what if cornerback Kyan McDonald, who is not quite as hyped as a recruit as his teammates, is actually better than both of them as a collegian?
Well, the Huskies are on him, too, on Friday making a scholarship offer to this heady 6-foot, 175-pound defender from football-rich O'Dea.
McDonald currently has offers only from Oregon and Washington, but that might be enough, depending on what his ego needs are.
This past season, the sophomore led his 8-3 Fighting Irish team in tackles with 7.5 per game. He was cool under pressure at all times.
Such as the big showdown with Eastside Catholic, which ended up as a 24-14 defeat for O'Dea. It was to no fault of McDonald.
In the opening quarter, he broke through to block a 33-yard field goal to keep the game scoreless.
Two quarters later, McDonald read the play perfectly, made a well-timed break and stepped in front of an Eastside player for a 41-yard interception and score.
Now while he doesn't have all of the offers that his Fighting Irish teammates hold, who's to say Alabama won't notice and offer him, too.
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