Inside The Huskies

Huskies Look Like Big Winner with This Champ

Touted San Jose offensive-line recruit commits to the UW.
Dan Raley|
Champ Taulealea, a UW commit, shares a moment with family.
Champ Taulealea, a UW commit, shares a moment with family. | Taulealea

While it's not totally clear how well the University of Washington offensive-line rebuild is going for next season, the Huskies' efforts to put something in place for 2025 and beyond appear to be shaking out nicely.

On Thursday, 4-star offensive lineman Champ Taulealea from Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California, revealed he has committed to Jedd Fish and the UW over a bevy of impressive suitors, who include Georgia, Florida, Penn State, Texas, Tennessee, USC and Oregon, to name some of his choices.

Taulealea, who goes 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds, currently stands as the biggest recruiting gain for the new coaching staff, which has been in place for barely six months, in terms of individual rankings and surrounding hype.

For the Class of 2025, Taulealea is rated as a 4-star player who On3.com ranks as the nation's No. 260 player, the 18th interior lineman nationally and California's No. 27 recruit. He's played left tackle and defensive tackle last season for the 6-6 Warriors, but is projecting as an offensive guard at the college level.

While pursued nationally, Taulealea kept his recruitment centered on the West Coast. He visited the UW on May 3, the day of the Husky spring game. He also gave a lot of consideration to USC, which made him a priority.

Taulealea becomes the seventh player, and second in three days, to commit to the UW. He's also the second offensive lineman in this group along with 6-foot-6, 275-pound Jake Flores of J Serra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.

They're joined by quarterbacks Dash Beierly and Treston "Kini" McMillan from Santa Ana, California, and Mililani, Hawaii, respectively; wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright from Bradenton, Florida; running back Julian McMahan from Danville, California; and edge rusher Devin Hyde of Atherton, California.

If only Taulealea and Flores, with their potential and big bodies, could join the Husky O-line competition in a month or so.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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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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