Josaiah Asuega entered the 2024 high school football season as South Kitsap’s diamond in the rough prospect.

He finished it shining brighter than ever.

The 6 foot 4, 298-pound senior lineman took to X Dec. 2 to announce his commitment to play college ball for the Montana State Bobcats, joining North Kitsap’s Nate Thornton as the second senior from Kitsap choosing to attend college in Bozeman this year.

Asuega also considered an offer from in-state FCS rival Montana and a mid-November offer from the University of New Mexico of the Mountain West Conference.

The three-star prospect, according to 24/7 Sports, was evaluated in May by national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins, who described Asuega as a standout at the 2024 offseason Under Armour Next Camp in Seattle in March and an athlete who “tested about as well as any defensive lineman on the entire UA tour this Spring.”

“He’s still raw and learning from a technical standpoint but is a naturally strong kid, quick off the ball and has the motor you love to see in a young lineman,” Biggins said. “When you look at his frame combined with his natural athleticism, he has a very big upside and should be recruited at the high Power 4 level.”

Montana State may as well be equivalent to a Power 4 offer these days. The Bobcats finished the 2024 regular season with a perfect record and earned the top seed in the NCAA FCS Playoffs just one year after landing a spot in the national championship game. They’ve also boasted a top-15 defense against the run, a stat Asuega could continue to boost if he remains on the defensive line.

Asuega took snaps on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Wolves in his final high school season, and he was the only team member to earn first-team all-league honors.