The biggest mystery on signing day Wednesday ended up on a familiar path.

Mililani senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the state’s all-time career passing record holder and Honolulu Star-Advertiser All-State offensive player of the year, decided to follow another Trojan to the opposite end of the country.

Gabriel signed his national letter of intent with Central Florida, where he will be teammates with McKenzie Milton, a 2016 Mililani alumnus and former Star-Advertiser offensive player of the year.

“Me and Kenzie talk day to day. We’re very close,” Gabriel said. “Him being there is definitely a plus. I didn’t really (decide) where I wanted to go, but him being there is definitely a plus.”

Gabriel (6-foot, 190 pounds), who led the Trojans to a state title as a sophomore and an OIA championship as a senior, threw for 3,747 yards and 38 touchdowns this year. For his career, he’s the only player in Hawaii high school history to surpass 9,000 career passing yards, totaling 9,848 with 105 TD passes.

Gabriel had committed to Army over the summer but de-committed early last month. He said he made his decision Monday, choosing the Knights over Georgia and Southern California.

“It was very tough. A lot of thinking,” he said. “I have some family down there as well. I got to just sit down and talk with my family and from there we just listed pros and cons and I made my decision.”

He will graduate from Mililani in December and enroll at UCF in January.

“It’s probably my best shot to get a head start learning the offense,” he said.

The Knights have won 25 straight games and will play LSU in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

Milton, who had won his last 22 starts, suffered a devastating leg injury against South Florida. He finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting this year after placing eighth as a sophomore. He will have one more year of eligibility if he can return from injury.

“Times have changed. You’ve got Marcus Mariota setting the bar. (Alabama’s) Tua (Tagovailoa). McKenzie. Jordan (Ta’amu) over at Ole Miss. Dillon’s following the footsteps of those guys who opened the door for him,” Mililani coach Rod York said. “Dillon’s taking advantage of it.”

Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period that runs through Friday.

Pac-12 champion Washington won the recruiting battle in Hawaii this year securing commitments from five players making up a quarter of its 20-person class.

UW landed Hawaii’s top-ranked senior recruit in defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele, who was one of five players from state champion Saint Louis to sign.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser defensive player of the year was joined at a signing ceremony by OL Arasi Mose (Hawaii), OL Ben Scott (Arizona State), DL Gino Quinones (USC) and DL Isaiah Filisi (Army).

“It feels so surreal. This is something that we all dreamed about. This is something we worked all our lives for,” Tuitele said. “Finally getting to make those dreams a reality now is a good feeling, but it’s the first step for us to be able to help out our families and forwarding our future.”

The 6-4, 299-pounder, listed as the 46th-best senior recruit in the nation by 247Sports, had offers from all four teams in the College Football Playoff — Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Notre Dame — and 39 total.

“The vibe, the environment, the coaches, the people, everything about (Washington) was just so different from the Alabamas and the Ohio States, the LSUs. At UDub, I felt at home over there. I fit in comfortably.”

Tuitele will be joined in Seattle by Kapolei offensive lineman Julius Buelow, Punahou kicker/punter Tim Horn, Kahuku linebacker Miki Ah You and Kaimuki defensive lineman Sama Paama.

The Huskies were rated the 15th-best class in the nation by 247Sports.

“It feels great to become a (Husky),” said Paama, who plans to enroll in the spring. “It hasn’t hit me, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to kick in pretty soon.”

A total of 24 kids signed letters of intent with Division I schools.

Navy added two commits on Wednesday in Punahou fullback Sitiveni Kaufusi and Kahuku defensive end Tausili Fiatoa, who had originally committed to Brigham Young as a sophomore. Kamehameha linebacker Akalea Kapono and Radford offensive lineman Darrellson Masaniai had already committed to the Midshipmen.

Army and Navy have policies that keep them from announcing recruited student-athletes until a self-imposed date.