Inside The Huskies

Huskies Offer Growing Lineman from Curtis HIgh

Rashaun Lavata'i received a flurry of attention after a weekend camp performance in Arizona.
Dan Raley|
Rashaun Lavata'i has a UW offer.
Rashaun Lavata'i has a UW offer. | Lavata'i

While others were in Montlake last weekend taking tours, posing for photos and hearing how great they were, Rashaun Lavata'i was in Phoenix, coming out of a stance, working under the sun and enhancing his football reputation.

Lavata'i is a somewhat lanky 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive tackle or guard from Curtis High School in the Tacoma area who was named the OL Most Valuable Player for his weekend performance at the Under Armour Next camp stop in the desert. This brought immediate dividends.

While he was no deep dark secret to Jedd Fisch's staff and was even invited to last year's UW-Purdue game, the Huskies didn't make a move on him with a scholarship offer until Sunday -- after he had impressed everyone with his nimble footwork and blocking prowess at suburban Chandler High School.

For Lavata'i, he also received rapid-fire offers from UCLA and California, on the heels of the one from the Huskies.

Previously, the 3-star prospect had heard from a whole lot of states -- such as Boise State, Fresno State, Montana State, Oregon State, Portland State and Washington State, plus Idaho.

Unlike John Mills, who seemingly came out of grade school at 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds, Lavata'i is just now growing into his body, with his athleticism catching up to him, and the college football recruiters are catching on to this physical development.

Last season, he played for a 7-4 Curtis team that made it to the playoffs, only to lose to Gonzaga Prep in the 4A state playoffs.

While the Huskies once recruited basketball guard Isaiah Thomas out of Curtis High, Lavata'i would be one of the first to join the UW for football if it turns out that way. Typically, the Vikings have sent their better footballers such as Singor Mobley, Torey Hunter and Mike Levenseller to Washington State and the NFL.

Over the past 25 years at least, no Curtis players have showed up on a UW roster.

The Huskies hold just seven overall commitments as they prepare for spring football practice that begins in April. Two of them, wide receiver Braylon Pope and defensive back Maurice Williams, hail from the Greater Tacoma area, same as Lavata'i.

Pope plays for defending state champion Sumner High, which won the 4A title with a 42-35 victory over Puyallup, and Williams lines up for Graham-Kapowsin.

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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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