Washington lands WA top prospect in O'Dea's Tevita Nonu
Jedd Fisch has never hidden his intentions about keeping the state's top prospects home.
In 2025, Fisch and the Huskies signed linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale out of Bethel High, the state's consensus top prospect. One recruiting cycle later, UW added defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa from Kennedy Catholic High, once again bringing the state's No. 1 talent to Montlake.
The Huskies got off to a strong start for this cycle, too. Braylon Pope, the Sumner High wide receiver considered the top prospect in Washington by the 247Sports composite ranking, was the first player to announce a commitment to UW's 2027 recruiting class.
But Pope wasn't the only player with a claim as the state's top prospect in 2027. Tevita Nonu, an O'Dea High defensive lineman, is ranked as the No. 1 player in Washington by 247Sports' own rankings.
And on Tuesday, Nonu revealed he will be joining Pope at UW after announcing his commitment to the Huskies in a post on his social-media accounts. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive lineman is the 15th player to pledge to join Washington, the sixth blue-chip recruit and the fourth local player.
https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/2056813705334067461?s=20
Nonu is a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports composite ratings. He's the No. 26 defensive lineman and the No. 245 player nationally after spending the past three years at O'Dea, where he was teammates with current UW signee and defensive lineman David Schwerzel. Former Husky defensive tackle Stafford Mays, the father of current Washington safeties coach Taylor Mays, is Nonu's position coach at O'Dea.
He chose UW out of a final group that included Arizona, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oregon. Nonu also had offers from Arizona State, BYU, California, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA, Utah and Virginia Tech, among others.
Nonu previously visited Washington during the program's junior day on March 7 and has an official visit scheduled for June 5. Rivals national recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman previously named Nonu as one of the five players UW needed to land in 2027 back in March.
At O'Dea, Nonu has been part of a defensive line that has propelled the Fighting Irish to consecutive Class 3A state championships under longtime coach Monte Kohler. Along with Schwerzel and Utah signee Fameitau Siale, Nonu helped O'Dea defeat Bellevue 38-15 in the 2024 state championship.
Nonu missed the start of the 2025 season as he dealt with a shoulder injury, but returned for the final five games to lead O'Dea to a 21-14 win against Mount Tahoma High and current Husky cornerback Elijah Durr. The Fighting Irish allowed only 12.6 points per game during the five games Nonu played.
Nonu, a varsity player since his freshman season at O'Dea, is the third-highest rated player to commit to UW's 2027 class, behind only Desert Edge High quarterback Blake Roskopf and Pope. Jon Ioane, a defensive lineman from Tustin High in Southern California; Jeremy Adeyanju, a tailback from Sandra Day O'Connor High in Glendale, Ariz., and St. John Bosco High safety Isala Aisa Wily-Ava, UW's most recent commit before Nonu, round out UW's blue-chip prospects.
Along with Ioane and Mater Dei High's Matamatagi Uiagalelei, the brother of former Husky defensive tackle Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, Nonu is the UW's third defensive lineman commit. It's been a strong start to the 2027 cycle for position coach Jason Kaufusi, who also signed five defensive linemen - Colman-Brusa, Schwerzel, JD Hill, Ta'a Malu and Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais - in 2026.
Nonu is also the fourth local prospect to announce a pledge to the Huskies, joining Pope, Glacier Peak High tight end Zach Albright and Graham-Kapowsin High cornerback Maurice Williams. UW now holds commitments from four of the state's top seven prospects.
Puyallup High offensive lineman Gecova Doyal, the state's No. 5 player, also visited UW during its junior day and has an official visit at UW arranged for June 19. He also has trips to Oregon and Utah planned and recently visited UCLA. Curtis Senior High offensive lineman Rashaun Lavata'i, the state's No. 3 player, has a UW offer but hasn't arranged an official visit. Lincoln High of Tacoma quarterback Sione Kaho, the state's No. 4 player, committed to Stanford in April.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 4:56 PM.