UW Football Dips into Lone Star State to Offer Elite 2028 Safety

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Over three dozen college football programs have offered Lancaster High School safety James Foster III before four more schools—Washington being the first—joined the hunt on Monday.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound four-star Texas native is the No. 2-ranked safety and No. 20 overall recruit in the 2028 class, according to 247Sports, with 42 reported offers to his name already before his junior season. Foster III added Arkansas, LSU, and Oregon to his list of schools after his offer from UW to begin the week.

It's not hard to see why every major Power Four college football program is lining up for the coveted Lone Star State prospect when you turn on the tape. Whether Foster III is playing a true deep safety position or coming down in the box—both pre and post-snap—to deliver thunderous hits that would give Huskies' safeties coach Taylor Mays a little bit of nostalgia.

Even on special teams, the two-way standout makes his presence felt as a gunner, a testament to how Foster III approaches the game even as one of the best prospects in the 2028 class.

UW will certainly have some ground to make up on SMU, Texas, and Notre Dame, three schools that have made an early impression on Foster III, with both the Mustangs and Longhorns hosting the in-state prospect for an unofficial visit this past fall.

With senior Alex McLaughlin long gone by the time Foster III is expected to enroll in whichever college he ends up choosing over a year from now, both sophomore Rylon Dillard-Allen and true freshman Gavin Day will have another year under their belt, with the need for another high-end safety to follow in their footsteps as Mays continues to build out the position.

The Huskies are also well-positioned for another four-star safety in the 2027 class, Damien High School (La Verne, California), standout Gavin Williams, which could put Foster III in the following class as the Huskies' premier target to continue the streak of at least one four-star safety each year since Jedd Fisch arrived in Seattle in January 2024.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies extend offer to elite 2028 Texas safety

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