Jedd Fisch's latest blue-chip commitment is four years in the making

On Thursday, the Washington Huskies landed a verbal commitment from four-star defensive lineman Jon Ioane, who chose the Huskies over UCLA, Cal, Stanford, and Penn State. His commitment is a major win for head coach Jedd Fisch, who’s been recruiting Ioane for longer than he’s been coaching the Huskies.

Ioane, who stands 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, has excelled through three seasons at Tustin, Calif.’s Tustin High School. He’s ranked the nation’s No. 183 overall player, the nation’s No. 9 athlete, and the No. 12 overall player from California by 247Sports, where he’s been given a four-star grade of 90. 

He’s listed as an athlete because he’s taken reps at quarterback, at tight end, on the offensive line, and on the defensive line. He’s projected to be an interior defender at the collegiate level, but he’s got exciting potential as a short-distance blocker or trick-play tool.

There’s more than nine months left in the 2027 recruiting cycle, but for Fisch, Ioane’s commitment has been a long time coming.

Jedd Fisch’s first ‘offer’ to Jon Ioane came almost four years ago.

Related: Jedd Fisch has another offensive star from Arizona in blue-chipper Jeremy Adeyanju

Fisch first reached out to Ioane when the former was coaching at Arizona, and when the latter was still in middle school. On April 14, 2022, Ioane announced on X that he’d received “an offer” from the Wildcats. 247Sports reports that an official scholarship offer came in March 2023.

Fisch left Arizona for Washington in Jan. 2024, but he offered Ioane a spot in Seattle just a few months later and has remained involved in his recruitment since. Ioane took a gameday visit last season when the Huskies hosted No. 1 Ohio State, and he was on campus again in early March for Washington’s “Dawghouse Weekend” Junior Day.

“Man I loved it,” Ioane said following his second visit. “The place is beautiful. I had a great time with the staff and seeing some of my boys up there.”

His commitment gives the Huskies three four-star recruits in the Class of 2027. Wide receiver Zerek Sidney is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, and running back Jeremy Adeyanju earned the same rating from On3’s Rivals.

All three blue-chip commits were in attendance for Dawghouse Weekend, but they weren’t alone. There were multiple four-star recruits, and five-star offensive lineman prospect Oluwasemilore Olubobola, among a large group of recruits visiting Montlake earlier this month.

Washington’s class is currently ranked No. 4 nationally by 247Sports, but Fisch will need to land more high-profile talent if he wants things to stay that way. Thankfully, he’s seen plenty of benefit from Dawghouse Weekend already, with Ioane marking the second blue-chipper and third player to commit to UW after attending the event.