Sunday's Apple Cup between the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars football team will be important to the present and future of the former.
The Huskies will enter the game Sunday with legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations and ranked 17th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll . It also could be one of the last Apple Cups ever, as the current contract between Washington and Washington State for the annual game, which has been played consistently since 1900, ends in 2028 .
In addition to those aforementioned factors, the Huskies will also play host to well over a dozen recruits, who will be at the Apple Cup for official visits..
Washington's list of official visits includes players already committed in the Class of 2027, as well as several blue-chip prospects from the Class of 2028 .
Among the Class of '28 recruits that will be present will be the top tight end in the class.
Tytan McNeal, a local recruit who attends Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Wash., will be in Montlake as a part of a string of official visits. He'll be on campus visiting the Oregon Ducks on Sept. 5, will visit the Auburn Tigers on Sept. 19, the Cal Golden Bears on Oct. 10, the Miami Hurricanes on Oct. 17, the UCLA Bruins on Oct. 24 and the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 7.
McNeal is ranked as the 37th-best player in the class, the best tight end and the best player in Washington, per the 247Sports composite .
Rivals' Industry Rankings has McNeal ranked as the 55th-best player in the country, the best tight end in the class and the second-best player in Washington.
As of now, On3 Sports' prediction model doesn't have the Huskies with a likely chance to land McNeal.
According to the model, the Texas Longhorns have the likeliest odds to land the 6-foot-5, 230-pound player at 25.3%. Oregon has the second-likeliest odds at 12.1% and the Nebraska Cornhuskers have the third-best odds at 10.3%.
A good showing in the Apple Cup would go a long way in putting Washington back in consideration for the top tight end in the class, and would follow a trend for the Huskies on the recruiting trail under head coach Jedd Fisch.
Fisch and the rest of the coaches have landed the top recruit in Washington in three-straight classes: linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale (2025), defensive lineman Derek Colman-Brusa (2026) and defensive lineman Tevita Nonu (2027).
