Washington is a program that could get involved late in the recruitment of 4-star Pittsburg (Calif) quarterback Jaden Rashada, according to 247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong.

Following news on Tuesday that Rashada had officially requested a release from his National Letter of Intent to Florida, Wiltfong reported that a trio of Pac-12 schools could be in play if he is indeed allowed out of his NLI by the Gators. Among those schools is Washington.

The Huskies have Michael Penix Jr. back for the 2023 season, so Rashada — whose Florida arrival fell apart because of a reported NIL snag worth eight figures — would be limited to a backup during his first year on campus.

But the Huskies didn’t take a quarterback in the 2022 class. They saw their 2023 quarterback stolen at the 11th hour last month. And former 5-star signee and UW legacy Sam Huard has hit the transfer portal.

Depth is needed.

From Wiltfong’s report:

Washington is another that I’d expect is going to pursue Rashada. Not only do the Huskies not have a quarterback in the 2023 class, but they didn’t sign one in 2022, instead landing Michael Penix Jr. out of the transfer portal. Penix went on to lead Washington to an 11-2 record (a seven-game improvement under Kalen DeBoer and that first-year staff), the maestro for the nation’s No. 1 passing offense and No. 2 scoring machine. Penix will return this coming season, but Rashada would have a clear bath to be the starter in 2024 with Sam Huard having entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The 6-foot-4 Rashada ranks as the 59th overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the industry-generated 247 Composite. He’s also the seventh-ranked quarterback.