Kamiak TE Waverly signs to OSU, LS QB Matson commits to CWU

MUKILTEO — After a long courting process with some of the biggest football programs in the nation, Kamiak standout and All-Wesco tight end T’Andre Waverly announced he had signed his letter of intent on Jan. 11 to play for the Oregon State Beavers.

With his decisions narrowed down to other options like national championship finalist Notre Dame and the local University of Washington, Waverly went with the Beavers for the fit.

“It’s one of those places where it’s really similar to home,” Waverly said of Corvallis. “Oregon State, they’re a school that’s known for using my position a lot, the offensive coordinator is known for getting tight ends in the offense… even if I’m not the starting guy, it’s still likely I can get some (playing time) early on.”

Waverly, the third-ranked Washington prospect in 247Sports.com’s class of 2025 composite rankings, had a dynamic high school career leading up to signing day. As a 6-foot-4-inch 225-pound tight end and edge rusher, Waverly served as primarily as a check-down option in his first two seasons on offense.

His size and production in Kamiak’s 12 personnel alignment showed scouts plenty — Waverly entered his junior season as the 30th-ranked prospect in the entire country for his class. He even received his first collegiate offer as early as his freshman season — a complete surprise given Waverly wasn’t aware that colleges were scouting him at that point.

With the new status came a new role for Waverly.

“Once junior and senior year came, it started becoming harder for me to play that role because people knew who I was and teams started keying in on me,” Waverly said. “A lot of the time I was running routes to get other people open.”

Waverly would ultimately finish his high school career as a three-star tight end prospect, netting 25 catches for 330 yards and five touchdowns in six games his senior season. He also added 22 tackles and four sacks on the other side of the line.

Kamiak head coach Ivan McLennan believes that Waverly holds all the attributes of a star collegiate pass-catcher.

“I believe he’s going to be a top tight end in the nation in a year or two because he’s just a mismatch nightmare. You try to put a safety on him, he’s too little. You try to put a linebacker on him, he’s too slow,” McLennan said.

McClennan is proud of his star tight end and said he will be “locked in” on his future but will miss him on the Kamiak’s gridiron.

“Any time you got a guy that’s six-four and 220 and he runs what he runs, you’re gonna miss that,” Waverly said. “He was a veteran, a guy that played varsity his whole high school career, so we’re going to miss that veteran presence.”

For Waverly, being a Knight was a transformative experience he won’t forget.

“High school ball is the last time you’ll be able to play with a bunch of people you grew up with, just being able to play with childhood friends,” Waverly said of what he’d miss most about Kamiak football.

Matson commits to Central

Another star Wesco talent had a recent collegiate development, as Lake Stevens star QB Kolton Matson announced his verbal commitment on Jan. 14 to play at Central Washington University this fall.

The two-time state champion and 2023-‘24 Washington Gatorade Player of the Year decided to commit to the Division II Wildcats for a chance to earn a starting role early in his career. Matson is no stranger to winning a signal-calling job as an underclassman, having won the Lake Stevens QB1 position in his sophomore season.

“What I want to be achieving is to definitely get that starting spot and format this team at Central to maybe go and win a D-II national championship,” Matson said.

Matson finished his high school career with over 8,300 passing yards and a 99-25 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing nearly 68% of his passes in 44 games.

But like Waverly, Matson will miss suiting up alongside teammates he grew up with most as he heads to the next level.

“I built relationships with these dudes over here and we’re all homegrown Lake Stevens boys. I wouldn’t have done it with any other group,” Matson said.