4-Star OT Prospect Nathaniel Kalepo Commits to Washington over Oregon, USC, More

Class of 2019 offensive tackle Nathaniel Kalepo committed to play his college football for the Washington Huskies on Friday.

Kalepo made the announcement with the following tweet:

According to Scout.com, Kalepo is a 4-star recruit who ranks as the No. 80 overall player, No. 9 offensive tackle and No. 1 player at his position from the state of Washington.

Among the other schools in the running for Kalepo were Pac-12 powers such as Oregon, USC and UCLA, per Scout.com.

Kalepo is listed at 6'5" and 290 pounds, and he stars at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.

In an interview with Adam Gorney of Rivals.com earlier this month, Kalepo discussed the importance of getting a scholarship offer from Washington: "It was my favorite college growing up because it was my hometown team, so it's just a blessing."

Kalepo has major ties to the Huskies, as he is the nephew of former Washington and current Cleveland Browns nose tackle Danny Shelton, according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. He is set to join a Washington program that is on the rise after winning the Pac-12 and qualifying for the College Football Playoff last season.

By keeping a key recruit within the state of Washington, the Huskies scored a major coup over programs that figure to be their biggest competition in the conference over the next several years.