Huskies Have Been Hot and Cold With Ioanes, With Third One Up

Huskies Have Been Hot and Cold With Ioanes, With Third One Up

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Huskies Have Been Hot and Cold With Ioanes, With Third One Up
Jag Ioane is a Utah edge rusher who recently visited the UW.
Jag Ioane is a Utah edge rusher who recently visited the UW. | UW

Five years ago, the University of Washington football program whiffed on a player named Ioane, with a coaching change getting in the way and causing offensive guard Olaivavega Ioane from the Tacoma suburbs to flip his commitment from the Huskies to Penn State.

Three months ago, the UW successfully secured a pledge from a player with that same last name, with California-produced defensive tackle Jon Ioane choosing Montlake over Penn State, California, Stanford and UCLA.

And now, the Huskies are working for the commitment from Utah-based edge rusher Jag Ioane, who visited campus a week ago.

It's not clear if any of these Ioanes, who hail from three different states, are related in any way, with their Samoan last name fairly common.

Yet they're all highly regarded football players.

Olaivavega, or Vega, was committed to the UW and Jimmy Lake's staff while playing for Graham-Kapowsin High School, but he pulled out with Lake's recruiting efforts often in disarray and the coach's firing coming while the lineman was playing his senior year.

It was a huge loss.

Carrying a 6-foot-4, 320-pound frame, Vega Ioane went on to become a first-team All-America selection for Penn State this past season and in April he was the 14th player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Jon Ioane, a 4-star prospect from Tustin, California, resisted Penn State's advances and committed to Jedd Fisch's staff on March 26.

He's such a versatile athlete, this Ioane played a few games at quarterback as a sophomore for Tustin High and could throw the ball.

Next up is Jag Ioane, who lists himself at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. The 3-star edge has Michigan, BYU, Boise State and Utah among his choices. He toured Montlake on June 5.

"Took a walk with the Dawgs last weekend," this Ioane posted on Sunday.

As a junior, he was an essential player for a 12-2 Orem High team that won the 5A state championship. He finished with 31 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss and 6 sacks, and had 10 hurries, a fumble recovery, 2 forced fumbles and was credited with a safety.

The Huskies offered him on December 8 right before playing Boise State in the LA Bowl. UW defensive-line coach Jason Kaufusi and edge coach Aaron Van Horn visited him in Utah in January.

Now everyone will sit back and see if the Huskies can secure a second Ioane, pitching the scenario that Jon and Jag potentially could play side by side.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as Huskies Have Been Hot and Cold With Ioanes, With Third One Up.

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