Huskies Offer Offensive Tackle from Phoenix Suburbs
A lot has happened since Caleb Lomu visited the University of Washington in mid-November on a recruiting trip.
A day later, Husky coach Jimmy Lake got fired.
A month later, Lomu and his Highland High School teammates from Gilbert, Arizona, appeared in a nationally televised football game from Las Vegas aired on ESPNU.
And now, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound offensive tackle from the Class of 2023 has received a scholarship offer from Kalen DeBoer's new UW staff, which includes holdover offensive-line coach Scott Huff, who needs no introduction to this Arizona prospect.
Lomu continued to get better as the season wound down, earning first-team all-conference honors for Highland High's first 6A state championship team while playing at his best against the best.
In the title game held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Lomu went head to head with 6-foot-4, 275-pound Anthony Lucas, a 5-star edge rusher and Texas A&M signee from Scottsdale's Chapparal High, and won his fair share of battles while his team won 31-10.
With Highland invited to a four-team Geico State Championship Bowl Series in Las Vegas in December, Lomu again played well. In a 35-24 loss on national TV, Lomu held his own against 6-foot-5, 235-pound Kenyatta Jackson, a 4-star defensive end and Ohio State signee from Chaminade-Madonna Prep School in Hollywood, Florida.
Lomu, who has offers from Arizona State, Arizona, Northern Arizona, BYU and UNLV, couldn't have been faulted had he seriously questioned whether he would hear from the Huskies again.
It's taken DeBoer and his coaching staff some time to backtrack, review Husky recruiting records and try to clean up the mess left by the previous ousted staff.
Lomu, however, emerged as someone who should be pursued and he now has an offer.
Interesting enough, when he previously visited as the UW program was starting to come unraveled with Lake's dismissal, the big tackle watched the Huskies and his hometown Arizona State tangle, with the Sun Devils pulling out a 35-30 victory in Seattle.
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