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St. John Bosco Freshman Nails Routine, Lands UW Offer

The young edge rusher in Southern California has an overly athletic skill set.
Dan Raley|
St. John Bosco Freshman Nails Routine, Lands UW Offer
St. John Bosco Freshman Nails Routine, Lands UW Offer

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Washington Huskies

The ball pops out from a teammate's blitzing hit, Epi Sitanilei scoops it up and alertly runs 21 yards to score, impressive enough for all parties involved. Yet the amazing comes next.

In his end-zone celebration, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Sitanilei proceeds to do a cartwheel and then a back flip, sticking a landing like an elite gymnast. Athleticism doesn't begin to describe what this gifted young edge rusher just did in a spontaneous moment.

People are finding out about Sitanilei and what he can do. On Wednesday, the University of Washington offered this kid a scholarship, joining the eight others he holds now from Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, Colorado, Louisville, Michigan, USC and Utah.

One more thing, he just finished his ninth-grade season of football at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, the alma mater for Trent McDuffie and others who've come to the UW.

On the freshman team. 

The Braves varsity is next up for him. 

Here's how this particular Southern California high school football powerhouse operates. It grooms talented players such as Sitanilei on a freshman team, in his case, one that runs 61 players strong. These Braves finish 9-1 and wait their turn to move up and join the upperclassmen.

Jayden Wayne, the uncommitted 5-star edge rusher from Tacoma, recently eliminated the UW from his recruitment, telling an analyst he just didn't have an extended relationship with the new staff.

While an unfortunate but inevitable circumstance from the Husky coaching change, Kalen DeBoer and his assistants aren't about to let this happen again as they settle in.

Meantime, Sitanilei from the Class of 2025 is getting ready to transfer his cart wheels and back flips to the St. John Bosco varsity. 

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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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