Inside The Huskies

Seeking Hawaiian Talent, Huskies Offer 2025 Linebacker

Josiah Kia from Honolulu and the Punahou Schools has a dozen scholarship proposals.
Dan Raley|
Seeking Hawaiian Talent, Huskies Offer 2025 Linebacker
Seeking Hawaiian Talent, Huskies Offer 2025 Linebacker

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Washington Huskies

For decades, the University of Washington football team has made the Hawaiian player a program staple, with three Islanders even pegged to start this coming season in edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele and offensive guard Julius Buelow.

However, the Huskies haven't been able to keep their more recent additions on the roster. Transferring out are defensive tackle Kuoa Peihopa (Hawaii), safety Meki Pei (Hawaii), defensive tackle Sama Paama (XFL's Seattle Dragons), place-kicker Tim Horn (Rice) and linebacker Miki Ah You (out of football).

On Monday, Kalen DeBoer's staff — specifically defensive-line coach and Hawaii native Inoke Breckterfield — took a step in restocking the Huskies with Hawaiian football talent by offering Honolulu linebacker Josiah Kia from the Punahou School, which earlier sent Horn to the UW. 

Just a sophomore from the Class of 2025, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Kia already holds a dozen offers, with the others coming from Notre Dame, USC, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Utah, California, Washington State and Hawaii.

Notre Dame very well could be the leader in Kia's college football recruitment because it already has his older brother on its roster. Kahanu Kia, another linebacker, played for the Fighting Irish in 2021 and is now serving an LDS mission in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

For a 9-2 Buff n' Blue football team, Josiah Kia was sensational this past fall especially as such a young player, finishing with 71 tackles, which included 16 tackles for loss and 8 sacks.

Tupuola-Fetui, Tuitele and Buelow, a senior and a pair of juniors respectively, are not only Husky starting candidates, they're also the only Hawaii players on the UW roster.

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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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