With UW Among 5 Finalists, Jaden O'Neal Will Choose School on Monday
For 4-star quarterback Jaden O'Neal, out went Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado, Oregon and Penn State as he narrowed his college football choices to five.
By Monday afternoon, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior-to-be from Long Beach, California, will let everyone know which one among Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington will gain his services for 2026 and beyond.
O'Neal will reveal his decision on Monday at 2 p.m. PST, choosing a school after receiving more than 30 offers.
Emerging among the finalists for a young signal-caller wanted by everyone coast to coast is new territory for the Huskies, who should consider that a victory in itself.
Yet Jedd Fisch's UW coaching staff, with its NFL pitch -- come be a pro -- is gaining traction among quarterbacks with long-term goals.
This past season, O'Neal played as a sophomore for a 5-6 Newport Harbor High School team, the quaintly named Sailors, and completed 209 of 343 passes for 2,475 yards and 27 touchdowns. In March, he transferred to Narbonne High in Los Angeles proper, presumably for a step up in competition.
Clearly, he wants to move ahead on his future college plans, deciding things a year ahead of time, at the peak of the 2025 recruitment period.
Should he choose the UW, O'Neal would join a quarterback competition in two years that involves current 5-foot-11, 187-pound freshman Demond Williams Jr., committed recruits in 6-foot-1, 215-pound Dash Beierly from SoCal's Mater Dei High and 5-foot-10, 210-pound Kini McMillan from Mililani, Hawaii, plus current 6-foot-1, 203-pound sophomore Shea Kuykendall, a Northern Colorado transfer.
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