Coveted Utah OL Darius Afalava Sets Decision Date, Huskies Among Four Finalists
darius-afalava
The Washington football program is poised to add another talented recruit to the 2025 recruiting class on Friday.
Darius Afalava, a 6-foot-5, 340-pound offensive lineman out of Skyridge High School in Lehi, Utah, will announce his college decision at 5:30 p.m. on June 28, choosing between Michigan State, Oklahoma, Utah and UW.
The talented three star offensive lineman has taken official visits to all four schools over the past month.
His last official visit was this past weekend to check out the Huskies and first-year coach Jedd Fisch, which he scheduled intentionally to be his last, even though it was the first official he scheduled.
"I wanted to make it the most important [visit] and that's really why I chose it there, just because it was the [trip] I was looking forward to the most," Afalava told All-Huskies on June 16 before his last visit.
Afalava has a relationship with Fisch, and UW offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll, dating back to their time at Arizona.
The Wildcats were third school to offer the Mountain Region lineman in January 2023 after his sophomore season, following his first two offers from Utah and Washington State respectively.
"Coach Carroll is really different from a lot of other coaches," he said.
"He's a lot more chill, a lot better with his players and everything. I took a visit to Arizona when they were there and that's what really first caught my eye."
With the combination of UW's recent success on the field and the arrival of Carroll and Fisch from Tucson, it was a perfect match for Afalava.
"Not to mention Washington is a place where you can win, and I feel like that's what I'm all about. So, it's good for both worlds."
Prior to his visit this past weekend to Seattle the talented interior offensive lineman took three other trips to Michigan State (May 31-June 2), Oklahoma (June 7-9) and Utah (June 14-16).
With former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith now leading the Spartans football program in East Lansing, Afalava wanted to reward the staff for continuing to recruit him after the move from Corvallis.
"They were the first staff that offered me at Oregon State and when they went to Michigan State I thought there would be no contact," he said, noting the coaches traveled out to Hawaii while he was staying there to recruit him which made a big impression.
Oklahoma came in late for Afalava, offering the Utah native on April 20, but they made up ground quickly to make his final four.
"Really, just how bad they wanted me," he said, when asked what stands out about the Sooners.
"They were definitely a little later in my recruitment, but they made sure to make up all that time with everything. When we took the official there my talk with coach [Brent] Venables was really good. He's such a passionate coach for the game and he really knows what he's doing within him and his staff."
When it comes to the in-state Utes, Afalava holds the program in high regard and knows several players with the Utah football program, but he wants to go out of the state for college.
"They've always checked every box," he said.
"Their o-line room really sticks out for me — just the whole family aspect I feel like for them. A strong staff that's been there for a long time. They have all the resources in the world. The only thing that holds them back is I just don't want to be home. They do really make it hard to leave home."
Washington holds two offensive line commitments in the 2025 class as of Wednesday, four-star interior offensive lineman Champ Taulealea and three-star tackle Jake Flores.