Orem WR Puka Nacua Commits To Washington
Feb 10, 2019, 11:30 PM | Updated: Feb 11, 2019, 9:17 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Orem High School star wide receiver Puka Nacua has committed to the University of Washington.
He announced his decision on KSL’s SportsBeat Sunday. His final six options before he committed to UW was Utah, BYU, USC, UCLA, USC and Oregon.
The decision was delayed due to snowy conditions on Utah roads and having to travel from Utah County, Nacua and his family made it towards the end of the show with Rod Zundel.
He was surrounded by his mother, siblings – including his older brother Samson, who is a wide receiver at Utah. Some of Puka’s high school teammates and coach Jeremy Hill was in attendance.
The Nacua family didn’t come to the decision until Friday or Saturday, according to Puka, when he and his mother “got on the same page.”
He had a verbal commitment to USC since June of 2018 before the Trojans went through some coaching changes that re-opened his recruitment. Nacua will join former Provo High School star wide receiver Ty Jones, who will be a junior this upcoming season.
Nacua is a four-star recruit and is the highest ranked prospect out of the state of Utah.
He helped the Tigers win back-to-back state championships and a 24-4 record in those two seasons. Nacua racked up 250 catches for 5,033 yards and 58 touchdowns during his four years with Orem.
That goes with the many accolades and awards that Nacua earned this past season. He was named the co-MVP of the Polynesian Bowl, as well as co-Polynesian Player of the Year. He appeared in the Army All-American Bowl and was named Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as Deseret News’ Mr. Football.
.@AsapPuka is heading to @UW_Football! Congratulations, Puka! #PUKAWATCH pic.twitter.com/OEMdI8n2rP
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) February 11, 2019
Nacua broke many state records, including receiving yards in a game, season and career. He also has the records for receiving touchdowns in a season and career.
He will join the Huskies, who are coming off of a 10-4 season, winning the Pac-12 Championship, but lost to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. They will be looking for a new quarterback after Jake Browning finished his career in Seattle.
When he made his decision, he got a phone call from Washington head coach Chris Petersen, who watched the entire SportsBeat show to see if the Orem High School star would join the team in Seattle.
WOOF!!
— Coach Petersen (@CoachPeteUW) February 11, 2019
Washington finished the season ranked 35th in the country in total receiving yards and No. 61 in yards per game. In the Pac-12, the Huskies were third in total receiving yards and No. 8 in yards per game.
Puka Nacua – best get at WR in almost a decade. HUGE for @UW_Football – The WR they needed & this class, which was a CFP class, just got elevated in a major way. @CoachPeteUW & this program is special.
— Yogi Roth (@YogiRoth) February 11, 2019
