Washington football joins race for brother of 2026 first round pick

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Orem High School star offensive lineman Mataio Fano, the younger brother of former Utah Utes star and Cleveland Browns’ 2026 first-round pick Spencer Fano, received an offer from the Washington Huskies on Tuesday morning.

The younger Fano, listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, is the No. 2-ranked offensive tackle in next year’s class, based on 247Sports’ rankings, and the No. 23 overall prospect in the ’28 class.

Despite his thin build, the rising Utah native is a mauler who is able to use his lower half to his advantage at this point in his high school career, while he still has plenty of time to add healthy weight to his frame in the future.

Fano has been on a tear over the past week on the recruiting trail, adding offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Oklahoma, USC, and others before UW joined the mix early this week, bringing his total to 14 schools in the mix for his services.

With senior right tackle Drew Azzopardi long gone and transfer portal addition Kolt Dieterich, a former starter at Sam Houston State, set to graduate by the time Fano gets on campus wherever he ends up signing over a year from now, the Huskies could be poised to continue their growing track record of signing a top five tackle in every other recruiting class after securing five-star Mater Dei tackle Kodi Greene in the 2026 class.

While UW wasn’t one of his first offers, it’s not too late for the coaching staff to get involved with Fano’s recruitment. The next step will be for the program to get the four-star prospect on campus this year for an unofficial visit.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies enter race for brother of 2026 first round pick

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