Victor Sanchez Hernandez Jr. of Kamiak High School has announced his commitment to play for the University of Washington starting in the 2025 season.
“It’s a blessing,” Sanchez Hernandez said. “Staying in my hometown means a lot.”
Rated as a three-star recruit by 247sports.com, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound defensive end transferred to Kamiak last year after two years at Lynnwood. He’s ranked as the 16th-best prospect in Washington’s Class of 2025 and the 113th-best edge rusher in the nation.
Sanchez Hernandez chose Washington over Oregon State, Utah, and San Diego State.
He wasn’t recruited by Washington’s previous coaching staff, but after Jedd Fisch replaced Kalen DeBoer as head coach in January, the new staff, particularly defensive line coach Jason Kaufusi, reached out. Sanchez Hernandez attended Washington’s spring practices and was offered a scholarship while attending a Huskies football camp. He announced his commitment on Sunday via social media.
“There were a lot of reasons,” Sanchez Hernandez explained. “First, it’s close to home, and I’ll feel like I’m playing for a bigger purpose than if I was outside the state. I really like coach Kaufusi; I got to know him well, and I feel he’ll develop me into a good player. UW has something special going on right now. The environment at UW can lead you to the NFL, and I want to be a part of that.
“Coach Kaufusi compared me to (UW edge rusher Zach) Durfee,” Sanchez Hernandez added. “He plays a little bit of everything: edge, 3-tech, 4-tech. (Kaufusi) sees me as a true edge at UW, but he wants me to be versatile.”
Sanchez Hernandez began playing football as a freshman in high school and has faced a steep learning curve. He’s also a world-class junior taekwondo competitor, having started the sport at age six. He’s a two-time junior national champion and was once ranked No. 1 in the world for his age and weight class.
He emphasized the importance of finalizing his recruitment early to focus on his senior season at Kamiak, which starts in September. Last season, despite being named first-team All-Wesco 4A at defensive line, the Knights finished a disappointing 1-9. With fellow three-star Class of 2025 recruit T’Andre Waverly, Sanchez Hernandez is motivated to turn things around at Kamiak.
“For me, I want to become first-team all-state, that’s one of my goals,” Sanchez Hernandez said. “But I just want to be a leader on my team. Last year was rough with the transfer from Lynnwood to Kamiak and new coaches. This year I feel more confident in the team; we’re all bonding and have good chemistry. I feel like we’ll be a dominant team this year.”
