Washington Secures Commitment from Four-Star Offensive Lineman for Class of 2025
By Andy Yamashita
Though it is still early in the 2025 recruiting cycle and player ratings are expected to change before the early national signing day on December 4, the Washington Huskies have made a significant move.
The Huskies have secured their first consensus blue-chip recruit under head coach Jedd Fisch. Four-star interior offensive lineman Champ Taulealea announced his commitment to Washington on Thursday via social media. Taulealea, a 6-foot-4, 325-pound native of San Jose, California, plays at Valley Christian High School. He is the seventh player to verbally commit to Washington for 2025 and the second in the past three days. Notably, six of these seven commits are offensive players, with five hailing from California.
Taulealea is the third Bay Area player to commit to Washington, joining running back Julian McMahan from Monte Vista High School in Danville and edge rusher Devin Hyde from Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, who committed just two days earlier.
Despite receiving offers from numerous schools nationwide, including Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, and USC, Taulealea chose Washington.
Brandon Huffman, 247Sports’ national recruiting editor, praised Taulealea, describing him as “one of the biggest, strongest interior line prospects in the west.” Huffman compared him to former UW offensive guard Nate Kalepo and highlighted Taulealea’s strengths in run blocking, noting his powerful initial punch and good footwork for his size. While he continues to improve in pass blocking, his prowess in the running game stands out.
Taulealea is ranked No. 26 in California, No. 15 among interior offensive linemen, and No. 281 nationally according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
This commitment marks Washington’s second offensive line recruit for 2025, joining three-star interior offensive lineman Jake Flores from San Juan Capistrano, California.
Washington’s need for offensive line reinforcements is clear. The team has 14 scholarship offensive linemen entering the 2024 season, but will lose two to exhausted eligibility: former Ohio State transfer Enokk Vimahi and D’Angalo Titialii, a former Eastside Catholic player who spent the last three seasons at Portland State.
Taulealea and Flores are expected to bolster the team’s interior line depth. Assuming no attrition, they will join a group including Gaard Memmelaar, Landen Hatchett, Zachary Henning, Paki Finau, and Michael Watkins in 2025. Redshirt freshman Kahlee Tafai also took repetitions at guard during spring practice.
In Washington’s 2025 class, Taulealea is one of two four-star prospects according to the 247Sports composite rankings, alongside IMG Academy wide receiver Raiden Vines-Bright, though 247Sports’ own ratings currently do not list Vines-Bright as a four-star recruit.
