UW Huskies add eight to 2022 roster on signing day, including Sumner four-star safety Tristan Dunn
Tristan Dunn is heading from the South Sound to Seattle.
Sumner High School’s four-star safety made it official early Wednesday morning, signing to play football for the Washington Huskies.
For more than six months, Dunn had a different destination in his plans, after committing to Arizona State last July. But, after visiting UW late last month and receiving a late offer from the local Pac-12 program, flipped his commitment hours ahead of National Signing Day.
And now?
“He’s where he always wanted to be,” said Sumner coach Keith Ross, who noted Dunn has had interest in UW’s program since seventh grade.
Dunn announced his commitment to the Huskies on Tuesday afternoon on Twitter with a hashtag that read #HomeTownHero.
New Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff got to work quickly to keep Dunn at home.
“He was probably one of the first names that was on my desk when I took the job,” DeBoer said during his Wednesday afternoon press conference. “And it’s really cool, going through December, kind of a little bit of contact, but then we really got into January and it’s been really awesome building a relationship with him and seeing his love and passion that he has for Husky football.”
Dunn, who is 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, is projected to continue to play the position that made him a standout defender for the Spartans during his high school career.
In his final season last fall, as a key contributor for a Sumner team that reached the Class 4A state quarterfinals, Dunn had 74 tackles, including six for losses and three interceptions.
His production at his familiar safety spot also earned him 4A South Puget Sound League defensive player of the year and TNT All-Area honors.
And roaming the secondary is where Dunn expects to stay when he arrives on Montlake.
“They really like me as a safety up there,” he said. “They want to use me interchangeably. So, that’s really their plan for me.”
Dunn is on board. When he spoke with co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chuck Morrell about how he might contribute to the Huskies’ defense, he knew UW was the right fit.
“When I went up into Coach Morrell’s room, we ended up going through film and stuff, and kind of putting me in a place, seeing how I would fit,” Dunn said. “That’s kind of when I really knew, is when we started really chalking up the film side of things.”
DeBoer noted his excitement about what Dunn could bring to the Huskies’ secondary when he arrives.
“From a player standpoint, this guy is violent,” DeBoer said. “He’s a fierce competitor. He’s super long — 6-4, long arms. He runs sideline to sideline. He can track down people. His highlight film is a lot of fun to watch. Great tackler, hits you hard over and over again.”
When discussing the “Husky” position on UW’s defense — which is a linebacker-safety hybrid — DeBoer mentioned Dunn as a player that “might be that type of guy with his length out there in space.”
“A lot of times it’s that safety that’s just so diverse and can do a lot of things,” DeBoer said. “The more dynamic that guy is at that position the better off, and more flexibility and more fun our defensive coordinator and staff are going to have dialing things up and putting the scheme in place.”
What that position requires seems “right in line” with what Dunn can do on the field, Ross believes.
“He offers them a huge, 6-4, lanky, fast, athletic kid that does not shy away from contact,” Ross said. “There’s just not a lot of kids like that anymore. … He can cover and hit, and I think he can play a lot of positions, he can play a lot of downs. So, I think they’ll get the most out of him.”
Beyond UW and Arizona State, Dunn also held offers from Arizona, Boise State, Florida Atlantic, Nevada, Utah, Utah State and Washington State.
He is considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com and ESPN, and is the second-highest rated recruit in UW’s class behind four-star Tumwater tight end Ryan Otton.
Dunn is the third in-state recruit to sign with the Huskies in this cycle — and third from the South Sound — joining Otton and a former 4A SPSL opponent in Emerald Ridge three-star wide receiver Denzel Boston, who both signed in December’s early period.
With the addition of Dunn, UW signed only two of the top 10 recruits in the state, per 247Sports Composite rankings.
Rainier Beach offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., the consensus top recruit in the state, remains uncommitted, though he does have the Huskies in his Top 6.
The other seven top-10 recruits in Washington — Union wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (Notre Dame), Puyallup offensive lineman Dave Iuli (Oregon), Todd Beamer offensive lineman Malik Agbo (Texas), Eastside Catholic linebacker Dishawn Misa (Boise State), O’Dea offensive lineman Mark Nabou (Texas A&M), Graham-Kapowsin offensive lineman Vega Ioane (Penn State) and Graham-Kapowsin defensive lineman Andrew Savaiinaea (Florida) — all signed out of state.
DeBoer emphasized Wednesday the importance of recruiting within Washington and working to keep local high school players at home.
“Obviously we have to do a good job of establishing relationships early in the process, really building on that, getting around and really meeting the coaches to where the coaches trust who we are, and that what we say is actually really what we’re going to do,” he said.
“I feel like we’ve worked hard on that. We’re just barely scratching the surface, I think, on what that will become. But, you get only one chance to make a first impression, and I think right now we’re working hard to make sure the coaches and the state of Washington and everyone involved knows that that’s going to be a priority.”
HUSKIES ADD EIGHT ON SIGNING DAY
The Huskies doubled their incoming class with Wednesday’s additions, and currently have 15 players — in eight high school recruits, one junior college transfer and six Division I transfers — set to join their roster in 2022.
The eight players announced on National Signing Day included four high school seniors and four of the transfers.
In addition to Dunn, UW also added Lamar (Houston, Texas) cornerback Jaivion Green and a pair of Fordson (Detroit, Mich.) defensive linemen in Armon and Jayvon Parker.
▪ Green, a three-star defensive back, joins the Huskies’ secondary after four varsity seasons, and chose UW over offers from nine more Division I programs.
“He’s a guy that’s just really fluid in how he moves,” DeBoer said. “I think he’s going to get stronger and faster as we go through this. He’s a very smart football player, smart person. … I think he’s got his greatest ball ahead of him for sure, as he grows and gets into our program.”
▪ Three-star recruits Armon and Jayvon Parker, who are twins, are “guys that will just anchor us down inside just with their length,” DeBoer said, also noting their strength.
“We have some guys I’m extremely excited to see come into this program and do some damage up front,” he said. “That’s Armon and Jayvon Parker. These are young men that, I don’t know how they were flying under the radar.”
Armon Parker also held an offer from Illinois, while Jayvon Parker had an offer from Grand Valley State.
Through the transfer portal, the Huskies added two offensive players and one defender with FBS playing experience, as well as one of the top punters in the FCS ranks.
▪ Former Arizona State wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander Jr. returns to the Pacific Northwest following his true freshman season in Tempe.
A former teammate of UW quarterback Sam Huard, wideout Jabez Tinae and edge rusher Sav’ell Smalls, Alexander had a stellar high school career at Kennedy Catholic.
In his 37 games there, he hauled in 236 catches for 4,032 yards and 63 touchdowns, finishing tied for third on the state’s all-time list in career touchdown receptions, fifth in receiving yards and tied for fifth in receptions.
He appeared in two games for the Sun Devils last fall and has four seasons of eligibility remaining.
“Just his production I think in his high school years is something you can’t overlook,” DeBoer said. “Wide-eyed. I love his mindset, love his mentality. He’s exciting to be around and has great energy.
“His production and the way he is already, coming on his visit, with the relationships he has already with the guys on our football team, already kind of being established, is really cool to see.”
▪ Cam Bright, a standout linebacker at Pittsburgh the past four seasons, joins UW as a graduate transfer with one season of eligibility remaining.
In 52 games at Pitt, including 20 starts, Bright tallied 177 tackles, 23 1/2 for losses, 9 1/2 sacks, a forced fumble, three recoveries and a defensive touchdown.
Beyond what Bright produces on the field, DeBoer also noted the experience and leadership he brings.
“He was an integral part of a team where he was also a team captain, and I think that’s a big deal,” DeBoer said.
▪ Running back Aaron Dumas heads to UW with three seasons of eligibility left after leading New Mexico in rushing as a true freshman.
He racked up 658 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 136 carries in 11 games — and no game was bigger than his career-best 143-yard performance against Fresno State last fall, with DeBoer on the opposing sideline.
“I just think he’s super consistent,” DeBoer said. “He’s very versatile. Not just a runner inside and outside, but also a guy who catches the ball well.”
▪ After four seasons as Idaho State’s starting punter, Kevin Ryan joins the Huskies with one season of eligibility remaining.
He ranked fifth among FCS punters in punting average last season at 45.6 yards per attempt on 58 tries — an average that would have ranked among the top 20 punters in the FBS last fall.
Earlier additions to the Huskies’ roster include the four high school recruits who signed in December (local additions Otton and Boston, and Arizona additions in Saguaro offensive lineman Parker Brailsford and Desert Ridge edge rusher Lance Holtzclaw), and Indiana transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr., U.C. Davis transfer cornerback Jordan Perryman and Cerritos College transfer linebacker Demario King.
This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
