O’Dea’s Tevita Nonu Latest Win as Huskies Look to Load Up on the Defensive Line

After three years of playing catch-up to build a defensive front capable of holding up in the Big Ten, the Washington Huskies appear to be loading up for the long term.

While head coach Jedd Fisch and defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi look far and wide for tall and wide bodies, the latest recruiting win is just a few miles from Huskies Stadium. Tevita Nonu, a 6-4, 270-pound Class of 2027 defensive lineman from Seattle’s O’Dea High School, committed to Washington on Tuesday.

Nonu chose Washington over Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon and Arizona. This was a crucial win for UW.

Nonu’s commitment means more than adding a blue-chip, four-star recruit to the class. Rated the No. 1 overall recruit in the state of Washington by 247Sports, it’s a key, in-state win at a position that is hard to fill. There just aren’t many potentially 300-pound high schoolers on the West Coast who can move like Nonu.

His highlights show a long, strong, relentless player who finishes plays. He has a knack for jarring the ball loose and is also adept at making himself small to slip through gaps between offensive linemen. He could be the next true freshman defensive lineman to make an impact, as Class of 2026 defensive tackle Colman-Brusa is expected to do this fall.

Assuming nothing changes prior to signing day in December, it’ll be the third straight year Fisch has landed the No. 1 in-state recruit. Whether that’s Nonu or Sumner’s Braylon Pope — the top recruit per the 247Sport composite rankings who has also committed to UW — the No. 1 recruit from the state in for 2027 would join Colman-Brusa and Zaydrius Rainey-Sale (2025) as a head of the class recruit to sign with the Huskies.

Nonu was the 15th commit for a Washington 2027 class that ranks 11th nationally on the heels of a 2026 class that was ranked 12th.

Four of the state’s top seven 2027 recruits have committed to Washington, including Pope, Nonu, Glacier Peak tight end Zach Albright and Graham-Kapowsin cornerback Maurice Williams. Quarterback Sione Kaho, ranked fourth, recently committed to Stanford, though Washington went with another four-star signal caller in Jake Roskopf, a four-star recruit who is currently ranked as UW’s top overall prospect. Curtis offensive lineman Rashaun Lavata’i (No. 3) and Puyallup offensive lineman Gecova Doyal (No. 5) had not committed to any school as of May 20.

With the recent additions of Nonu and Isala Aisa Wily-Ava (St. John Bosco H.S., Bellflower, Calif.), Washington’s 2027 class features six four-star recruits, including Roskopf, Pope, Ioane and running back Jeremy Adeyanju (Sanda Day O’Connor H.S., Glendale, Ariz.)

Defensive Line Emphasis

While star counts and in-state wins are important, so is a long-term plan for the defensive front that has largely been built through the portal during Fisch’s tenure.

Nonu joins fellow four-star Jon Ioane out of Tustin H.S. (Calif.) as a commit to join UW’s defensive trenches. Matamatagi Uiagalelei (Mater Dei H.S., Santa Ana, Calif.) is a third defensive lineman in the 2027 class. They’ll follow a 2026 class that includes Colman-Brusa, four-star JD Hill (Mission Viejo H.S., Calif.) and three-star Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais (Cherry Creek H.S., Englewood, Colo.).

Colman-Brusa ran with the first team during spring ball, and Umu-Cais appeared to be ready to contribute to the rotation as a true freshman. Hill will arrive this summer, and is also a candidate to play early.

Washington ranked 15th in FBS in points allowed during the 2025 season while relying on significant contributions from 2025 portal additions Anterio Thompson, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and Simote Pepa, as well as 2024 portal recruits Deshawn Lynch and Logan Sagapolu. With all of them out of eligibility following last season, the only defensive lineman with significant playing experience is junior Elinneus Davis.

Colman-Brusa is likely to start next to Davis, and Ryan Walters’ defense will rely on transfers junior DeSean Watts (Sacramento State), junior Darin Conley (Ball State) and sophomore Kai McClendon (Mississippi State) to solidify the rotation.

Though retention is never a certainty in modern college football, all, plus sophomore Omar Khan, could in theory return for the 2027 season to give the incoming freshman some time to develop. Even if a couple depart after this season, a fourth straight makeover seems unlikely.

2028 and Beyond Heating Up

Jedd Fisch and his recruiting staff are not shy when it comes to making scholarship offers. A total of 210 offers have gone out for 2027, according to the 247Sports database. Approximately 25 recruits, most from 2028 class, posted on X on May 20 alone that they had received an offer from UW.

Fisch has signed 52 high school players total (27 for 2025 and 26 in 2026) in the past two recruiting classes, and it is likely UW will continue to sign classes of approximately 25 players.

Here’s the number of reported offers per high school graduating class as of May, with many more likely to come over the next month:

2027 (H.S. juniors): 210

2028: (sophomores): 115

2029: (freshmen): 16