Washington Huskies add another defensive commit to 2026 class

For the second time in less than 24 hours, Washington football landed a 2026 defensive back. 

Elijah Durr, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound cornerback from Mount Tahoma High, announced his commitment to Washington on Monday morning. He’s the seventh high school player to join UW’s 2026 recruiting class. The Huskies received a pledge from IMG Academy defensive back Ksani Jiles Sunday afternoon. 

Durr is a three-star prospect, the No. 11 player in the state and the No. 75 cornerback nationally according to the 247Sports composite ratings, though 247Sports considers him the No. 7 player in Washington. Durr held scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Cincinnati, Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin and others. 

“He plays a physical game and does a nice job using his length in 50-50 ball situations,” Greg Biggins, 247Sports national recruiting analyst, wrote in an evaluation Sunday. “He plays with sound technique, breaks well on the football and doesn’t have to clutch and grab like a lot of young corners.”

Durr will join a cornerback group in 2026 with a lot of available snaps. The Huskies are expected to lose a majority of their secondary contributors following the 2025 season. Presumed starters Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis, along with nickel Dyson McCutcheon, are expected to exhaust their eligibility. 

Additionally, five UW cornerbacks entered the transfer portal during the winter window: All-Big Ten honorable mention Thaddeus Dixon, Sugar Bowl hero Elijah Jackson, starting nickel Jordan Shaw, former composite four-star recruit Curley Reed III and Oregon transfer Darren Barkins. 

Behind Prysock, Davis and McCutcheon, UW currently has sophomores Caleb Presley and Leroy Bryant, redshirt freshman Elias Johnson, and true freshmen Dylan Robinson, D’Aryhian Clemons and Ramonz Adams on its roster in 2025. 

Biggins praised Durr’s ball skills, and noted his experience playing wide receiver at Mount Tahoma will help him at the next level.

“We would like to see him continue to improve his overall top end speed in order to stick with some of the faster receivers he’ll line up against at the college level,” Biggins wrote, “but he’s an easy high Power 4 prospect with a very nice ceiling.”

Durr’s commitment is also a testament to coach Jedd Fisch’s desire to bring in-state talent to UW. Durr is the fourth player from Washington who’s pledged to join the Huskies during the 2026 recruiting cycle, joining Eastside Catholic High linebacker Wassie Lugolobi, Evergreen High athlete Terrance Saryon, and Roosevelt High’s two-way lineman Ah Deong Yang. 

Fisch and the Huskies might not be done adding in-state players, either. Durr was recently on campus for UW’s junior weekend, along with Kennedy Catholic High edge rusher Derek Colman-Brusa, O’Dea defensive line duo David Schwerzel and Fameitau Siale and Bethel linebacker Ramzak Fruean. 

Colman-Brusa is the No. 1 player in the state according to the composite rankings, while Schwerzel, Siale and Fruean are ranked No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Lugolobi, who committed to the Huskies on Nov. 10, is No. 7 while Saryon, who pledged to join UW on Nov. 16, is No. 8. 

It’s a continuation of the trend Fisch established during the 2025 recruiting cycle, when UW took five in-state recruits: Bethel linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale, Auburn Riverside High linebacker Jonathan Epperson Jr., Spanaway Lake High cornerback D’Aryhian Clemons, Kamiak High edge rusher Victor Sanchez Hernandez and Kennedy Catholic offensive lineman Lowen Colman-Brusa, Derek’s older brother. 

The trajectory is also interesting because Fisch hadn’t enjoyed much recruiting success in Washington before leading the Huskies. He signed two-way Garfield High standout Rahshawn Clark, who then followed Fisch to UW, in 2024. Before Clark, Fisch’s only other Washington signee was Kentridge High tight end Dorian Thomas in 2023.

For context, Kalen DeBoer signed six Washington natives during three recruiting cycles at UW: wide receiver Denzel Boston, safety Tristan Dunn, tight end Ryan Otton, Presley, center Landen Hatchett and edge rusher Jacob Lane.