Highly sought Auburn lineman Danny Shelton will play collegiate ball in purple and gold next season, making a verbal commitment to attend the University of Washington on Friday.

The 6-foot-3, 286-pounder will look to make an impact for the resurgent Huskies – who defeated Nebraska 19-7 in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday – as a defensive lineman.

According to Shelton, he had narrowed his decision down to either the University of Oregon or Washington, before announcing is decision after the Offensive-Defensive All-American Bowl on Friday.

Shelton’s mother, Oneone, told The Seattle Times on Friday that her son committed to UW “because it’s close to us and they have a good program, too.”

“He didn’t want to leave his brothers or his sister,” Oneone told the Times. “He wanted to be able to go over and visit us or we can visit him every weekend.”

Shelton helped lead the Trojans to the state 4A quarterfinals this season with his muscle along the offensive line and 56 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Couple that with a 3.5 GPA and a 1260 on the SAT, and most of the Pac-10 Conference programs were eager to have Shelton come play for them.

According to Shelton, getting playing time as soon as possible factored heavily into his decision.

National letter of intent signing day is Feb. 2.