Washington signee Paki Finau withdraws from NCAA Transfer Portal

The Washington Huskies football program has been on a wild roller coaster ride this season and has been experiencing more lows than highs following the departure of head coach Kalen DeBoer. However, on Monday, Washington received a huge boost courtesy of the NCAA transfer portal after sophomore interior offensive lineman Paki Finau revealed he has removed his name from the portal and will return to the program.

After spending just under two weeks in the portal, he is of the mind that the best thing for his collegiate career is to remain at Washington under newly-hired head coach Jedd Fisch who was hired away from Arizona.

As a member of the Class of 2024, Finau was a four-star recruit out of Hesperia (Calif.) Oak Hills, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 29 overall prospect in the state, the No. 25 interior offensive lineman in the class, and the No. 306 overall prospect in the class.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Washington transfer portal numbers

The transfer portal has unfortunately not been as favorable to the Washington Huskies so far this offseason following the exit of head coach Kalen DeBoer, who took the head coaching job at Alabama following the retirement of Nick Saban after leading the Huskies to the national championship game this past season.

The winter transfer portal window closed on January 2, but the NCAA guidelines allow a 30-day extension for players to enter the transfer portal if a head coach leaves a program, giving Washington players 30 additional days to enter the transfer portal follow DeBoer’s departure on January 12.

As of February 5, Washington has had 23 players enter the transfer portal with 12 players committing to play at Washington from the transfer portal. Given what the Huskies have lost and gained, Washington ranks No. 63 on On3’s 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings with an Index Score of -16.

On3’s Team Transfer Portal Index utilizes the On3 (P)erformance score to measure a team’s production during the transfer process, compared relative against its roster and not a comparison against other schools.

The Huskies hired Jedd Fisch as their new head coach after he spent the last three seasons as the head man at Arizona, with the Wildcats transforming from a one-win team in his first season and a 10-win team in 2023 under his leadership.

With a multitude of players in the transfer portal and declaring for the NFL Draft already, it’s no secret that Washington’s team will look different next season as the Huskies join the Big Ten Conference in year one under Fisch.