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Inside The Huskies

Huskies Go Down Jersey Turnpike To Pick Up Edge Rusher

Chaz Gray becomes the UW's 18th commitment, 10 of whom are defensive players.
Dan Raley|
Chaz Gray and Brian Odom share a recruiting moment.
Chaz Gray and Brian Odom share a recruiting moment. | Gray

Derek Zammit can tell people all about edge rusher Chaz Gray and how much the now University of Washington freshman quarterback would much rather be playing alongside him than trying to avoid him.

On Tuesday, these two New Jersey guys became prospective college teammates when the touted 6-foot-4, 250-pound Gray, a 4-star recruit, announced his commitment to the Huskies, choosing them over Tennessee, Clemson and Central Florida, according to Rivals.

Gray, who has a perfect name for someone getting into a stance under Seattle's rainy skies, hails from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, which sits on the New Jersey-New York state line and is just 31 miles from New York City.

He'll be coming from near Times Square to Red Square.

Gray becomes the UW's 18th commitment, 10 of whom are defensive players, and the second edge rusher to go with Matamatagi Uiagalelei from Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, California.

The Huskies now have received six consecutive pledges from 4-star players. They've been on Gray for a long time, first offering him on January 29, 2025.

As for a prior meeting between Gray and Zammit, the edge rusher and his Green Knights team came in and manhandled the quarterback and DePaul Catholic 31-14 at home this past October 31 in Wayne, New Jersey.

Zammit and his normally high-scoring Spartans were held to 11 first downs and just 119 yards passing as Gray and his teammates, who include his 5-star linebacker brother Tahj, continuously moved him out of the pocket.

Gray had 3 tackles and a quarterback hurry as his team broke a 14-all tie with a 17-0 fourth quarter to win convincingly.

It was games like that have brought him 24 offers, which also include the likes of Notre Dame, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Miami and Nebraska.

Gray, according to Max Preps, finished with 40 tackles this past season, among them 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, plus 3 pass break-ups, for a 10-2 team.

He visited the UW the weekend before last and it obviously left him with a good impression as he still has a trip to Tennessee set for June 19, where he would have met with a staff that includes former Husky co-defensive coordinator William Inge.

Gray and Zammit, of course, hail from the home state for UW coach Jedd Fisch, who has made sure his recruiters go over it annually looking for talent.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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