Four-star 2020 offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten commits to UW Huskies over rival Oregon

Washington just beat Oregon.

Granted, two of the Pac-12’s primary rivals won’t officially meet on Montlake until Oct. 19. But exactly three weeks after he narrowed his list of suitors to the Huskies and the Ducks, 2020 Valor Christian High School offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten announced a verbal commitment to UW on Friday.

“When we visited Washington, it was the best fit for me and I really liked the location,” Rosengarten told 247Sports. “I liked the whole coaching staff, loved everything about it and there was not one con to the whole trip. I liked both schools, actually, but the thing was that I felt I fit in best at one program. There are so many opportunities in Seattle.

“I’m so relieved. This recruiting process has been very good to me, but long. I started to narrow things down and I’m glad I was able to get down to one school. I can’t wait to get up there and acclimated with all the guys. I’m excited to play football and dive into the academics up there. I’m really excited for the future.”

UW fans should be excited, too. Rosengarten — a 6-foot-5, 275-pound two-way standout from Littleton, Colo. — is ranked by 247Sports as a four-star prospect, the No. 2 senior in the state of Colorado, the No. 11 offensive tackle and the No. 91 overall prospect in the 2020 class. Aside from Oregon, he also chose the Huskies over offers from Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Nebraska, UCLA, Utah, Miami and many more.

And, unsurprisingly, Rosengarten was that heavily recruited for a reason.

“I love him. I think he’s one of the more intriguing players out west,” said 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman. “I think he’s a true two-way lineman. He’s clearly going to be an offensive lineman at the next level. But this is a guy who wasn’t just playing defensive line because he’s a big guy. He’s talented.”

Talented enough to record 63 tackles with 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception in his junior season, according to MaxPreps. Talented enough to repeatedly drive defensive ends into the dirt in his 2018 highlight tape. Talented enough to instantly become UW’s most coveted 2020 commit, in a class that also includes quarterback Ethan Garbers, tight end Mark Redman, offensive lineman Gaard Memmelaar, athlete Sawyer Racanelli and running back Jayveon Sunday.

But as recently as three weeks back, Rosengarten’s inclusion was in question.

“When he tweeted that he was going to be making an announcement three weeks ago, when he named his top two, there were a lot of people that thought he was going to be announcing (his commitment) for Oregon that weekend,” Huffman said. “That’s how much of a lock he was to Oregon.

“Washington really, really rallied. Not that I thought Oregon was the prohibitive favorite to get him, but this just shows you that when Chris Petersen gets that last official visit before a decision’s going to be made, more often than not Chris Petersen has landed that guy.”

Petersen (and offensive line coach Scott Huff, for that matter) got said official visit, and just like that, a decision has been made. Rosengarten will join a UW roster that currently lacks a single player from the state of Colorado. The only two Colorado kids offered by the Huskies thus far in the 2020 class — Rosengarten and three-star tight end Kole Taylor — both took official visits to Washington last weekend.

Time will tell whether Taylor eventually follows Rosengarten’s route west. As it stands, UW’s class currently ranks 44th nationally, according to 247Sports. Oregon, meanwhile, sits at No. 16, with 10 total commits and six four-star pledges.

Rosengarten won’t be one of them. But when his two finalists meet again in mid-October, better believe that he’ll be watching.