Washington Football Joins Race For Fast-Rising New Jersey 2028 EDGE

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One of the fast-rising edge rushers in the 2028 class, St. Augustine Prep sophomore Akeem Jones Jr., added the Washington Huskies to his growing list of scholarship offers on Wednesday.

Jones, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Bridgeton, New Jersey, has gained several Power Four offers from Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, and Penn State this spring prior to his offer from UW this past week. After a strong sophomore season that saw Jones finish with 49 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery, the offers slowly began to trickle in, and there's no indication the Huskies are going to be his last offer either.

Still unranked by both 247Sports and On3/Rivals, the Garden State pass rusher is one of many underclassmen from the state of New Jersey to add an offer from UW in the past couple of weeks, as Jedd Fisch and co. continue to make a push for more than just a select few recruits from his home state.

The reason why several Power Four schools, including UW, have made the decision to offer early is that Jones possesses high-end instincts as an athlete. His frame allows him to play on either side of the line, as a stand-up pass-rusher or with his hand in the dirt, and he used his pure athleticism to make an impact on special teams as well in 2025.

Jones has made unofficial visits to Penn State and Rutgers this spring, along with a game-day visit last fall to Maryland. The next objective for the Huskies' staff will be to get the New Jersey native on campus for an unofficial visit this fall—ideally—or after the season.

Thus far in the 2028 class, UW has offered at least 10 prospects from the Garden State, tied with Arizona for the third-most offered states by Fisch's staff in next year's cycle. In the 2027 class, the number sits at 12, according to 247Sports' database, which is sixth-most behind California (70 high school offers), Arizona (20), Texas (20), Florida (16), and Illinois (13), and just above the 10 offers out to in-state recruits.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies join race for fast-rising 2028 New Jersey EDGE

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