by | February 11, 2014 · 9:16 pm

Who are these Dawgs? Offense

Andrew did a nice job recapping the defenders in the Huskies 2014 recruiting yesterday.  I’ll be honest: he got the more interesting of the two groups.  Between Budda, Kaleb McGary and all those defensive backs, there’s a lot of talent and potential on the defensive side of the class.

The offense has plenty of intrigue as well, though.  It’s short on elite recruits, but there are plenty of guys who should contribute and could really blossom.  Under-the-radar recruits are and will be a theme of Petersen’s recruiting.  That’s true for everywhere outside of USC and Alabama, but Petersen provides more confidence these sleepers will turn into contributors, given his track record at Boise State.  We’ll have to wait and see if he has the same success at UW, but this coaching staff turned a lot of lightly regarded recruits into very good players at BSU.

I’ll keep the same format as Andrew, with a quick blurb and the likelihood they’ll play as true freshman.  Barring massive injuries, I expect fewer offensive players to play early.  There just aren’t many major impact guys, and the offensive depth is as good as it’s been in years.  Let’s do this!

QB K.J. Carta-Samuels – It didn’t appear Sarkisian was planning to take a QB in this class, but Petersen wasted no time finding one. His first target, Jaylen Greene, was committed to UW for less than a week before Sarkisian stole him away to USC. It ended up working to UW’s advantage when KJCS became available after Vanderbilt, to whom he had committed long ago, underwent a coaching change of it’s own.  QBs usually commit early, with most of the top guys committed before they ever start their senior seasons.  Getting a four-star, extremely talented guy like KJCS this late was huge and lucky.

Carta-Samuels is a big guy with a big arm. He’s a bit of a project, as his high school didn’t run an advanced offensive system, but he should have plenty of time to improve before he might be needed.  He’s the fourth 4* QB on the roster, and while competition will be tight over the next few years, he could easily be the starter down the road.  Should Cyler Miles find himself suspended or off the team after his recent legal troubles, or if someone else transfers, this signing could end up being huge in 2015 or ’16.  Chance he plays as a true freshman: 2% (barring injury, there’s nearly no chance he plays)

RB Jomon Dotson – Running back might be the place where the coaching change hurt the most.  Sark was in on a couple of the top guys in the country in Joe Mixon and Demario Richard, but Pete was left scrambling a bit.  Dotson isn’t a bad pick-up, but he’s not likely to challenge for time right away.  He’s listed as 6′ 165 lb., so he’ll obviously need to bulk up significantly if that weight is accurate.  What he does bring is true breakaway speed, a dimension the current Husky backs lack.  Even with Sankey’s early departure, the Dawgs have a lot of backs, so don’t expect to see Dotson for a year or two, unless they want his speed on special teams. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 20%

WR Dante Pettis – Pettis might be the most likely to surprise right away.  He’s the cousin of former BSU star Austin, and a lot of people consider him one of the more underrated recruits in the west.  He’s not huge at 6′, but he’s big enough to play outside and is an excellent all-around athlete.  He could play defense if needed, but there’re thin numbers at receiver too, especially if Stringfellow finds himself off the team.  Pettis could fill a roll similar to what Kevin Smith had last year, and he could do it quickly. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 70%

WR/TE Brayden Lenius – Lenius is one of those guys who gives reason to think he could become a star, but given the distance he must go to get there, it’s more likely he won’t.  In his case, the positives start with the fact that he’s 6′ 5″.  Add in good hands and solid speed, and his limited football experience, and the hope is that he can become a major threat on the outside, or at TE should he bulk up significantly.  I wouldn’t bet on it, because Pac-12 football is hard, but he’s worth watching for, and if everything comes together, he could become one of the better receivers in the conference.  Chance he plays as a true freshman: 35%

TE Drew Sample – Sample is a local guy, from Newport High, who had been committed to BSU but flipped almost immediately upon receiving an offer from Petersen at UW.  He’s a fairly traditional tight end, known more for his blocking than receiving, but he has good size and solid athleticism.  I don’t know how the new offense will use the TE, so it’s hard to say a ton more.  Sample does fill a bit of a hole as a blocking-oriented TE, so it’s possible he could see the field early, but more likely he will redshirt to gain some muscle. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 40%

OT Matt James – As long as McGary stays on defense, James appears to be the gem of this offensive line class.  He has good size, and the athleticism and footwork to potentially stay at tackle, where the Dawgs will need bodies soon.  James, from Coeur d’Alene, was one of three UW commits Sark had from Idaho. Strangely, once UW hired a coach from Idaho, that number dropped to one, with Sark taking one to USC and the other eventually switching to BSU.  In my opinion, the Huskies kept the right one in James, given their needs and James’ upside. People who know much more about the offensive line than I do think he could be a star. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 5%

OL John Turner – Turner isn’t highly rated (the same could be said of the next two guys, as well), but that doesn’t always mean a lot on the line.  It’s a hard position to scout and project.  Turner’s recruitment seemed to pick up late in the cycle, and Cal, among others, was on him toward signing day.  Some people seem to like him a lot.  I honestly can’t say.  Sark and Petersen both wanted him, so that’s enough for me at the moment.  He could potentially play RT or guard. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 1% (these next three will all be 1%, but they’re essentially guaranteed to redshirt.  A new staff presents enough questions that I’m not confident enough to claim any absolutes.)

OL Jesse Sosebee – I feel a little bad, but I have almost nothing to say about Jesse.  It’s nothing personal, Jesse!  If you somehow read this and want to do an interview, I’d love to hear more. He’s just a guy that didn’t get a ton of coverage, he’s not highly ranked, and the O line doesn’t lend itself to highlight reels.  Most I’ve seen think he’ll be a guard. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 1%

OL Devin Burleson – Devin’s a really big boy, at 6’7″ (or more) and at least 260 lbs. He’s another who’s new to football in the last couple of years, and he’s been more of a basketball player before this year.  That has some excited, as the basketball footwork is a good sign for an offensive lineman.  He’s like Lenius as a bit of a physical freak with a long way to go to be a star.  As I said before, usually these kind of guys never quite hit their potential, but sometimes they do.  Burleson is certainly worth taking a shot on, and I personally won’t be at all surprised if he’s starting at tackle in a few years. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 1%

K/P/Boss Tristan Vizcaino – Vizcaino seems to be capable of doing pretty much anything related to kicking the football. He has a shot to be Travis Coons 2.0, as he could take over at punter, kicker or kick-offs, or some combination thereof.  He even spurned the Cougars to be a Dawg.  Way to go!  The UW specialist spots are really up for grabs, post-Coons.  K Cameron Van Winkle just underwent back surgery, and there’s a chance he might not make it back.  P Korey Durkee struggled for a few games as a true freshman in 2012, and hasn’t seen the field since.  Hopefully, they return to health/kicking proficiency, but Vizcaino could be a huge signing, and a busy man come fall. Chance he plays as a true freshman: 95%

So there it is. Recruiting for 2015 is already rolling along, by the way, but we’ll wait a while before we get into that.  As always, leave any thoughts or comments below.  We’d love to hear from you. Go Dawgs!

-Matthew

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by | February 10, 2014 · 9:42 pm

Who Are These Dawgs? (Defense)

2014 signing day has come and gone and went surprisingly according to plan for the Washington Huskies.  Coach Petersen had about 2 months to put together a class (although almost a whole month of that was a quiet period).  In those 2 months, Coach Pete brought in 24 players.  All but 3 of those were not committed under the old staff.

The 2014 class was ranked 35 by Scout.com and 7th in the Pac-12.  As far as transitioning from coach to coach goes, this was a very strong class.  It addressed needs in the secondary and provided quality depth to an already talented team.

Later in the week, Matthew is going to look at the recruits who will be on the offensive side of the ball but we’re going to start off by looking at the defense.

Before I get into specific players, I’ll try to break it down by positions.  On the defensive line the Huskies signed 5 guys who will start there.  There are 3 guys who will definitely start as ends (maybe 4) and 1 that is destined to be a tackle.  After signing 4 linebackers last year, the Huskies only added 1 this year.  The secondary is really where the Huskies added guys.  They signed 7 guys who will be in the secondary, 3 at safety and 4 at corner (probably).  The secondary class was ranked in the top 5 in the country.  The Huskies could run a 4-2-5 (5 secondary guys) in the future, and this class lends itself to that.  It also fills a huge hole in what was a position group that lacked depth.

I’ll take a quick look at each player on the defensive side.  If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I will get to them.  I’ll list the players by position group.  Along with a short profile of the commit, I’ll give a percentage chance that he plays as a true freshman.  This is my guess.  I don’t know that much.  Please don’t take it too seriously, I just thought it’d be a fun exercise to add.  Here we go!

DT Greg Gaines – Gaines is a big 300 pounder out of California.  While he’s 300 pounds, he’s only 6’1″ so he’s very large.  I’ve often wondered if a huge defensive guy like that may benefit from being shorter because the offensive linemen have a harder time getting under their pads.  The old staff was recruiting taller guys, and really seemed to push for that type of body type.  The new staff may do the same, but there wasn’t quite the emphasis on it this time.  Gaines was rated as a 3-star prospect and had offers from Colorado, Iowa State, Boise State, and Fresno State (as well as some smaller schools) according to Scout.  Gaines has a chance to play right away because there aren’t a ton of guys similar to him on the roster.   Chance he plays as a true freshman:  40%

DE Jaylen Johnson – Johnson also comes from California and is a defensive end.  Jaylen was long committed to Boise State but is one of the players Coach Petersen persuaded to come to Washington.  Johnson may have been one of the most hotly recruited prospects that decommitted from Boise.  Johnson is listed at 6’3″, 240 lbs.  He is reported to have offers from most Pac-12 schools including Oregon and ASU, as well as TCU Vanderbilt and Northwestern.  Johnson may be the furthest along of any of the defensive ends.  That alone may be reason why he plays this coming season.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  40%

DE Kaleb McGary – McGary is 1 of 4 four-star recruits to sign with UW.  As last as 2 weeks ago, it didn’t look good for the Huskies but the allure of being close to home proved to be a huge factor for McGary, as he lives in Fife.  McGary is full of potential.  At 6’8″, 280 lbs., McGary could easily become a left tackle.  He’s going to start out on the defensive side of the ball, per his own request.  McGary obviously has the type of body you want on your football team.  He’s a great athlete and, if coached up, could become a star.  While he is fairly raw right now, McGary was a huge get for Coach Pete and staff.  He chose UW over Wisconsin, WSU, and OSU but could have gone anywhere in the Pac-12 (Nebraska also offered).  Because of his body type, he could play right away.  He could really develop during a redshirt season though, especially if he switches to the offensive line.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  60%

DE  Shane Bowman – Upon his arrival, Coach Petersen made Bellevue High School a priority.  Most Husky fans couldn’t agree more with this decision.  Bowman was a commit to Oregon State before he flipped to UW.  He was one of Bellevue’s most important players on their state championship team.  Bowman has a high motor and comes in at 6-4, 240.  He will probably add some weight to that but may be more of rush-end than the others mentioned thus far.  Because he isn’t that big, Bowman will probably need a season to redshirt.  The hope is that he turns into the next Scott Chrichton.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  15%

DE Will Dissly – The last of the defensive ends comes from Bozeman, Montana.  Dissly is an under the radar kid, but he dominated in his High School league and has some impressive film.  He was named as an honorable mention on the Parade All-American team.  Dissly could possibly see time as tight end, but I imagine that he’ll stick on the defensive side of the ball.  Dissly is seen as a project but, then again, so was Mason Foster.  Dissly lives in a portion of America where there isn’t a lot of scouting so it’s harder to know what you have.  From what I know, I would guess that he needs a year of seasoning before he breaks on to the field.  Never underestimate Montanians though.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  10%

LB Drew Lewis – Drew is another one of the Washington prospects that signed, in what was a down year for in-state talent.  Lewis played safety in high school but will start out as a linebacker at UW.  He played as Eastlake High School (and has a little brother who could be just as good, if not better).  Lewis was listed as a three-star prospect with offers from ASU, Pittsburg and Oregon State.  Lewis visited USC a few weeks before Signing Day but never received an offer.  The old staff loved him but couldn’t find a way to work around their limits at USC to offer him.  While Lewis looks like an exciting prospect, he is pretty raw, as well.  The team has lots of depth at linebacker so I don’t think Lewis will probably see the field this year, despite being a very good athlete.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  15%

S Budda Baker – I think most people know the story of Budda.  I was entirely serious when I wrote that sentence and read it again and laughed.  Budda was the top-rated prospect in Washington and is an incredible talent.  He’s explosive and strong.  His frame is often compared to Earl Thomas, as he is 5-10, 180.  He is a sure tackler and his speed plays really well at the safety position.  We will probably also see him on the field on offense from time to time.  When he committed to UW (after decomitting from Oregon) he said the coaches had talked to him about having an offensive package for him.  Offensive package is another one of those terms that could have a very strange meaning.  Budda is the crown jewel of this class and is the highest profile recruit the Huskies have landed since Shaq Thompson.  He could have gone anywhere in the country.  Budda is likely to play as a true freshman, as the team is low on safeties and Budda is a top-end talent.  Chance he plays as a true freshman: 95%

S Jojo McIntosh – Jojo is another one of the DB’s who could play right away.  He’s from California and was a commit to the UCLA before the two sides parted ways.  McIntosh didn’t waste much time before committing to the Dawgs there after.  He’s a 3-star prospect and is projected to be a safety.  He had offers from Boise and Wazzu, as well.  I’m excited to see what Jojo will bring to the team.  He’s also the second player named Jojo on this team.  That’s pretty exciting.  I think he stands a pretty good chance of playing right away because of the depth at his position.  The same goes with all of the safety prospects.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  45%

S Lavon Washington – Washington is the lowest rated safety of all the prospects (again, according to Scout) but he may have the most impressive offer sheet with offers from ASU, Cal, Fresno, and OSU. aside from Budda.  Lavon committed to the old staff at UW but seems to be one of those rare kids who actually commits to the school.  Washington is 5-11, 180 and was also a receiver in high school.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  40%

CB Darren Gardenhire – Like McIntosh, Gardenhire was a long-time commit to a school before turning to UW.  Gardenhire was committed to WSU for about a month before changing his mind.  He was also offered by Boise State and Utah.  He’s 6-1, 190 and from Long Beach, California.  He’s not quite as high-profile recruit as the other secondary commits but still one to be excited about.  He’s pretty funny on Twitter too.  Gardenhire was a safety in high school and is listed as that on recruiting services but UW announced him as a CB so that’s what we’ll put him as.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  35%

CB Naijel Hale – Naijel is the son of the late, legendary rapper, Nate Dogg.  He was a surprise late in the process as a long time commit to Arizona before tripping to UW and changing his decision to Washington.  Hale is another of the four-star commits.  He had offers from all up and down the west coast and is a physical corner.  He likes to hit people and that shows in his film.  Hale has a chance to play right away, especially as a nickel corner.  He is currently 5-11, 170.  He comes from California.  Chance he plays as a true freshman: 70%

CB Brandon Lewis – Brandon Lewis committed to Boise State last April and was seen as an up and coming prospect.  He then struggled with injuries in his last year of High School (after doing the same his junior year).  He was still committed to Boise State when offered by Coach Pete and then shortly switched.  If Lewis comes back healthy, he could be a steal for UW.  He’s 5-10, 170 and also played some running back in High School.  With the injury history, I would expect Lewis to redshirt so that he is healthy when he sees the field.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  15%

CB Sidney Jones – Add one more to the list of guys who flipped to UW.  Jones was committed to Utah for about a month before flipping to UW.  He also had an offer from Colorado and some offers from lower conference schools.  Jones is an intriguing prospect.  We in Seattle love tall corners and Jones fits that bill at 6-1.  He may have to put on some weight but his film was very impressive.  He is my 3rd favorite player in this secondary (in this class) and I think he is a pretty strong contender to play early.  Chance he plays as a true freshman:  60%

Well, that’s all of them!  A pretty interesting group of players who could see the field fairly soon.  I think the class filled holes, added some potential stars, and stayed away from JC players.  That’s a good check list to follow, especially for a transition class.  I’m excited by the future of this team, and specifically the recruiting.  Next year’s in-state class is phenomenal and this staff has made in-state a priority.  Everything seems to be happening at the right time and I’m excited to see what happens.  We’ll have a post on the offensive guys from this class pretty soon.  Go Dawgs!

Andrew

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by | February 5, 2014 · 6:46 am

Happy National Signing Day!

Finishing Off The Day – I’m back at home and have thawed out my frozen body parts.  What a great day it was for Seattle.  I will never forget it.

Nothing unpredictable happened to the Huskies.  All of the verbal commits heading into the day ended up signing with the Dawgs and they had two players sign who announced their commitment today.  Those two are Devin Burleson, who is a 6’8″ offensive lineman, and Brayden Lenius, a 6’5″ receiver.

All in all, the class ended up ranked 36th in the nation by Scout (that doesn’t include commit Jamie Bryant, that would have had minimal impact though) and 7th in the Pac-12.  A great accomplishment for a transition class.

We’ll have more on all of the commits over the next week.  As for now, know that it’s a very impressive class for the short amount of time Coach Petersen had to put it together.  Go Dawgs!

Hale’s in! – I’m out the door.  But, Naijel Hale is officially in.  A 4-star corner.

Off to the parade – Alright, everybody!  I’m off to the parade.  Again, we’re waiting on 6 more letters.  Lenius announces at 1 P.M.  Hale and Turner should be announced by Washington anytime and I don’t have a time table for the other three.  Coach Petersen’s press conference is at 3 P.M. and I’ll have updates from that and more tonight.  Have a great day, everyone!

Two Bellevue Offensive Linemen to Walk-On – Morgan Richey and Max Richmond, two linemen from Bellevue high school, have decided to walk-on at U-Dub.  They both turned down scholarship offers to come play here.  Petersen has done an outstanding job at Bellevue in such a short time.  Let’s hope it stays that way for years to come.

Turner and Hale should be Dawgs – From the things I see on Twitter, it looks like it’s only a matter of time before the school announces that Hale and Turner will be Huskies.  That leaves the Huskies at 20.  I would guess Dissly would be the last of the verbals to send in his papers and Lavon Washington might not sign with the Huskies.  I don’t have any facts to support this, just a few insights and a guess.  It might be the other way around.  That would put the Huskies at 21 and then there are three surprises left to fill out the class.  Again, I’m counting on Lenius and Burleson to be Huskies.  I’m still unclear on the last one.  Kalen Ballage would be another name to look out for but that would be a huge surprise and seems unlikely at this point.

Headed off – I’m off to get ready for the parade.  I’ll try to update one more time before I actually leave.  Go Dawgs and go Hawks!

Who we’re waiting on – From what I can tell the guys that have verbally committed and not been announced yet are CB Naijel Hale, DE Will Dissly, S Lavon Washington and OL John Turner.  I’m not sure who here wouldn’t sign but we’ll wait and see.  This doesn’t include a few surprises.

CB Brandon Lewis – I believe Lewis is the 3rd corner to have signed today.  He’s from California and comes in at 5’11” 185 lbs.  Lewis played some receiver in high school and has some good coverage skills.  This DB class will really pay dividends down the road.

17/24 – We’ve got 17 players who have signed thus far.  There haven’t been any surprises and everything has gone to plan.  I’m going to stick around for a few more minutes but then I have to get ready to brave the cold and head over to Seattle.  We’ll see if anyone else trickles through here in the next few minutes.

DL Kaleb McGary – Here’s another big name.  I’m still pretty surprised the Huskies got Kaleb.  He is 6’7″ 285 lbs. and currently lives in Fife, Washington.  He is the 3rd (of 4) 4-star players to sign with the Huskies.  McGary projects really well as an offensive tackle but he’s starting out as a defensive end.  I’m hoping he turns out to be like one of those tall Stanford defensive ends that they have had over the last few years.  Although we won’t see him faking injuries.  This kid oozes potential.

OL Jesse Sosebee – Another large person.  Sosebee is the second offensive linemen (still a few to come) in the class.  He is 6’6″ 300 lbs. and will probably play guard.  Sosebee may be more of a project than James but Strausser (the offensive line coach) has done great work with some of these ‘project’ guys before.

OL Matt James – Somehow they snuck in Matt James in between posts about Budda.  Sorry I skipped over you big fella.  James is the first of the offensive linemen to get his papers in.  He is from Idaho and is 6’5″ 270 lbs.  He’ll probably end up a guard but does have some potential as a tackle.

Budda’s In! – It’s finally official!  Budda Baker is a Husky.  Budda is the top rated player in the state of Washington (by a fairly large margin) and was committed to Oregon before rethinking things and coming to UW.  He is the recruit everyone is most excited about.  He will play free safety for the Dawgs and maybe a little bit on offense as well.  He’s 5’10” 180 lbs.  and from Bellevue High School.

WR Dante Pettis – Pettis is a 6’1″ 175 lb. receiver out of California.  His dad is a former major league baseball player and his cousin is Austin, an NFL receiver who played under Coach Pete at Boise.  Pettis is one of the better athletes in this class.

A 4-star confirmed – The school hasn’t announced it but Naijel Hale has confirmed that he will be a Husky.  He’s one of the big names who hasn’t been announced by the school yet along with Budda Baker and Kaleb McGary.

Not Many Rumors – There’s not many rumors floating around of who is decommitting or committing today.  Usually these things start to leak out but I haven’t seen anything about that yet.  I’ll let you know if I do.

Halfway There – If Gregg Bell is correct (he usually is because he’s a UW employee) the Huskies have received half of the letters that they’ll receive today.  So far, 12 are in and they are expecting 24.

CB Darren Gardenhire – Gardenhire is another one of the DB’s in this class.  He’s a funny guy on Twitter and had a good time with the process, trying to recruit other prospects to UW.  Gardenhire is 6 foot, 180 lbs. from Long Beach, California.  Gardenhire listed as a corner is a surprise, as he played safety in high school.  The coaches must have seen something they liked in his coverage skills.

K Tristan Vizcaino – Well, it wasn’t the big name I was thinking but this is a great get.  Getting a kicker in this class was a huge need and was accomplished when the staff flipped Vizcaino from WSU in January.  Vizcaino is generally rated in the top 10 kickers in the nation as far as recruits go.  He may punt, as well.  He’s 6’2″ 195 lbs.  Big kicker.

Questions – If you have any questions about a player or the process, leave them in the comments and I’ll get to them by the end of the day.

DE Shane Bowman – Bowman is a defensive end out Bellevue High School.  He flipped to UW after being committed to Oregon State for quite a while.  Bowman is 6’4″ and 250 lbs.  He may have to put on some weight but he’s got a great motor.  Coach Pete seemed to really make Bellevue a priority upon his arrival and that’s a great thing.  I’m guessing that we’ve got a big name coming up next.

Who’s from where?  So far there are 3 guys from Washington state and 6 guys from California in the class.  This is pretty normal.  I’ll keep updating on location throughout the day because I find that pretty interesting.

CB Sidney Jones – Sidney Jones is a 6’1″ 170 lb. corner out of California.  He also played receiver in high school.  The UW flipped him from Utah, and he had several other Pac-12 offers.  I like to see tall corners like this and I’ll be interested if the coaches go after that body type at corner.  I’m glad to see Jones is officially in because Utah was recruiting him hard to flip back to their side.  This guy is one of my favorite players of this class.

Eight Players In – So far we’ve got 3 defensive linemen, 1 running back, 1 quarterback, 1 tight end, 1 linebacker and 1 safety.

DL Jamie Bryant – Jamie Bryant was a member of last year’s class and was asked to grayshirt, meaning he delayed his enrollment until this year.  It’s great that the new coaches honored this commitment.  Bryant is a big guy, coming in at 6’5″ 300 lbs.  He is from Tumwater High School.  He is listed as a defensive lineman but it’s thought that he could be on the offensive line at UW, as well.  With them listing him on the defensive side of things, I imagine that’s where he’ll start.

Moving Pretty Quickly – We’re seven guys into the class.  All 7 have come in the last 20 minutes.  Expect there to be a few more in the next half an hour and then for news to come a little slower throughout the day.  As far as what I’m seeing in Twitter, the Bellevue guys have all done their paperwork and it should be in soon.

S Jojo McIntosh – Jojo is one of (at least) 3 safeties in this class.  He is from Chaminade High School in California and followed Coach Pete from Boise.  Jojo is 6’1″ 195 and the second player on the UW roster named Jojo.  What are the chances?  He’s also a part of this DB recruiting class that is rated 2nd in the country by Scout (behind Tennessee, who somehow had 34 commits as of yesterday).

QB K.J. Carta-Samuels – The first of the four star prospects to get their paperwork in is the quarterback of the class.  Carta-Samuels was a long time Vanderbilt commit but when James Franklin left he ended up choosing UW over Vandy, Penn State, and Boise.  He’s 6’2″ 225 and the 4th straight 4 star quarterback recruit to come to UW.

TE James Sample – James Sample’s papers are in.  He’s the first of the Washington high school players to be announced (they expect 5 on scholarship).  Sample is from Newport High School and is a 6’5″ tight end, weighing in at 245 pounds.  He was a 3 star prospect in most places.

DE Jaylen Johnson – Jaylen is a 6’3″ 245 lb. defensive end out of California.  He is another guy the coaches beat out BSU for.  He was also considering several Pac-12 schools.  He is one of the defensive linemen I am most excited about in this class.

DT Greg Gaines is in – You want beef?  You got beef!  Greg Gaines is a bulky man.  He is a 6’1″  305 lb. defensive tackle out of California.  He is one of the guys that followed Coach Pete from Boise to UW.  Again, just a large human.  Most services ranked him as a three-star player.

Commit #2 – The second player to sign with the Huskies is Jomon Dotson.  He is listed at 5’11” 175 (this is probably generous from the coaching staff) and is a running back out of California.  He chose the UW over Colorado.  A very small but quick running back.  He also played corner in high school but is listed as a RB for UW.

More on Lewis – Lewis will need to add a little bit of weight to play linebacker in the Pac-12.  He was a safety in college but it’s thought that he’ll be moved to outside linebacker once he’s on campus.  The UW is announcing him as a linebacker.

Our First Husky of 2014 – The first player to send in his papers to the University of Washington is Drew Lewis.  He is a linebacker out of Eastlake High School (Sammmamish) and 6’2″ 200.  He had committed under Sark, looked around once he left and then ended up back at U-Dub.

How big will this class be?  Expect this class to be about 24 players big.  During the season it looked like this would be a smaller class but because of the roster attrition involved in a coaching change the size of this incoming class grew a little bit.

More on the surprises – Gregg Bell just said in a live chat that 1 or 2 players who verbally committed to UW may sign elsewhere and expect 3 surprises today.  So, there you go.  I don’t know who the third surprise is but I have a good idea on the first two.

Any Surprises?  The original idea of doing this live blog was to cover any Signing Day surprises.  There are usually some guys who will commit (or more often decommit) to the Huskies on Signing Day.  Today the Huskies are still waiting on a few players who could become Dawgs.  OL Devin Burleson and WR Brayden Lenius are expected to be Dawgs by the end of today.  Both are somewhat exciting prospects with a lot of potential but not the most polished players.  Others that could become Huskies are Dejuan Butler, a JC cornerback, and Khalil Oliver, a safety deciding between Oregon and UW.  Other than that, it would be a real surprise.

Opening Thoughts – When Steve Sarkisian announced that he was taking the USC job, this Husky class was never going to be great.  Even if Sark had stayed, this class probably wasn’t going to be great.  There wasn’t a very deep class in the state of Washington and while the Huskies were in on some very good players, it seemed unlikely that they would end up at U-Dub.  Chris Petersen and staff have done a great job at salvaging this class.  There were two people committed to the Huskies when Coach Pete took over (some had decommitted after Sark left), now there are 21 verbally committed and probably 1-3 more who could end up signing with the Dawgs today.  The coaching staff have done a great job getting Washington prospects, something Sark didn’t do as well, and filling needs.  While there isn’t as much star power as the last few recruiting classes, this class looks very solid and capable of moving the program along.  There’s a lot of good depth and a few names to look out for.

When Do Things Start Happening?  Right now, no faxes are coming in to any west coast school because a recruit isn’t allowed to send in the LOI until 7 AM.  Once that comes around, some papers will start to come in and the Huskies will have people officially signed to play for their football team.  The faxes will come in all day, so there might not be very many before I take off for the parade.  I’ll try to keep up until then.  The Good Guys will have a recap post or two on all the recruits that sign sometime over the next week.

Good morning, Dawg fans!  Happy National Signing Day!  We’re getting this thing started and I’m rubbing sleep from my eyes.  Apparently downtown is getting packed already for this afternoons parade and the whole town is ready to party.  I’ll be updating this blog fairly often this morning, depending on how much information that is being let out.  I will be back tonight, after the parade to give a recap of everything happened.  Enjoy!

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by | February 4, 2014 · 10:05 pm

Let The Good Times Roll!

I don’t have long here but I wanted to throw up a post really quickly to give you a few details of what’s going on.

Today, Budda Baker committed to the University of Washington to play football.  He was the top rated player in the state, a free safety who may play some offense, and has been a fantastic player for Bellevue High School in the last few years.

On Monday, Kaleb McGary committed to the University of Washington to play football.  He was the second highest rated player in the state and will play defensive end to start but may be on the offensive line by the end of his college career.  He’s a huge 17-year-old who has all kinds of potential.

Needless to say, things are going well in Seattle.  The Good Guys will have more on these players in the coming days.  Tomorrow is Nationals Signing Day and, as usual, I’ll have a running blog.  I plan to start at about 6:30 in the morning and go up until 8:30.  I’m going to the parade, so I’ll take a long break and come back tomorrow evening with some closing thoughts and recapping any surprises.  If you’re a loyal reader of the blog you know that this is one of my favorite sports days of the year but nothing would stop me from this parade.

In the days following signing day, Matthew and I will have posts recapping the players the Huskies signed.  So, check back in the following days if you’re out all day tomorrow.  I hope you all get to experience tomorrow but if you don’t I plan to take lots of pictures and put them up in a post here.

This is truly an amazing time to be a Seattle sports fan.  Maybe the best it’s ever been.  We hope you feel the magic and we hope to share it with you if you can’t be here!  I’ll be back tomorrow morning bright and early!  Go Hawks, go Dawgs, and go Seattle!

Andrew

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by | February 3, 2014 · 5:48 pm

A Championship Feeling

I’m not here to write about the Super Bowl.  The Super Bowl was perfect, an absolute dream that will replay in my mind until I’m old and gray, sitting in a recliner telling my grandkids about it.  Words won’t do it justice and other people can recap the game more capably than I can.

The same goes for the NFC Championship game.  You couldn’t write a Hollywood script better than that.  And I couldn’t write a recap better than watching a 10 minute highlight reel on Youtube.

The truth is, this season was perfect and there’s nothing I would change.  The 3 losses the Hawks suffered made the team more interesting.  The controversy made the unity between the fans and the team unbreakable.  If you weren’t in Seattle for the last month, I truly wish you could have been here.

My initial task for this post was to try to sum up everything I’ve felt about this team and, more importantly, this town in the last month.  After staring at my screen for the last few minutes, I don’t think I’ll be able to.  Seahawks

What I can write is how proud I am to live here.  You can’t drive a block without seeing a ’12’ flag.  You can’t turn on any Seattle radio station without hearing about the Seahawks in one segment.  Our hellos have been replaced with “Go Hawks!”  So have our goodbyes, for that matter.  While I’ve never lived to see one of my hometown teams win a championship until yesterday, I have seen some really good teams.  2001 the town was brought together through the Mariners, but not like this.  2005 brought us the Seahawks and while the crowds were always great, they weren’t like this. Last year started this madness but never quite reached the fever pitch we saw the last month.  All of those great seasons (and a few others) were just warm-ups to this year.

Some people think that it’s dumb to put so much into sports and think it’s ridiculous that sports can bring a city together.  They’re right, it’s a bit ridiculous.  But, I wish those people could have seen what I saw in the last month.  I wish they could have seen it with an open mind because I think they would change their mind.

After the game last night, I sat on the couch with my wife, texting the other Good Guys, and watching the news, with live shots of downtown.  People were celebrating in the streets in several different places.  I flipped over to Sportscenter several times and watched that.  The feeling of my city finally winning a championship hadn’t set in yet (it still hasn’t) but I was so content then.  And while contentment wasn’t a feeling that wasn’t created to last, it was the perfect feeling for that moment.  I listened well into the night as KJR had a radio show going until 5 AM.  The range of people calling in was incredible but that shouldn’t be surprising.  This team is made up of some players who were expected to be great and players who weren’t given a thought by most teams.  The team was Bellevue and Rainier Beach.  It was Renton and Kirkland.  The team embodied the Pacific Northwest sports attitude of ‘It’s us against the world’ and so did the fans.  Now, everyone’s watching us as we celebrate.  All eyes will be on Seattle as several hundred thousand people gather on Wednesday to line the streets of downtown and cheer on this team one more time.

I wish I could tell you the feeling here.  I’d waited all my life to feel it and now have no idea what words to use to describe it.  I just know this city deserves this.  There were people camped out in the airport today waiting to cheer on the team as they came home today.  The team wasn’t even coming in through the airport.  There were people lining the streets from Renton to Sea-Tac as they left.

Last night on Sportscenter, Steve Young said, “The 12th man isn’t a gimmick.  They feel accountable for what happens to this team.”  He’s right.  We do and we’re proud to feel responsible for the Lombardi Trophy being in Seattle.

As I was walking in from work today, I stopped to get the mail.  I looked to my right and there were kids out in the 30 degree weather playing football.  I continued the 100 yards or so to my house and walked past 2 cars with someone inside listening to KJR as the hosts celebrated.  I got a little emotional and I’m not sure why this got to me after all the joy that I’ve felt in the past 24 hours.

I don’t know how to describe what this city is feeling right now, but I know it’s perfect.

– Andrew

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by | January 28, 2014 · 10:28 pm

UW Recruiting Update

Signing day for college football is a week away, so it’s time for  an update on the 2014UW recruiting class. Normally, we write quite a bit about recruiting, but it’s been hard to get a handle on the class this year, mostly due to the turmoil created by the coaching change.

No area is impacted more immediately and significantly by a coaching change than recruiting.  Despite what they say, most players commit in large part to the coaching staff, so a change in coaches means lots of changes in the recruiting class.  The Huskies only had seven commits before the change, and only two of them still remain committed to the Huskies, with one just decommitting tonight and another still undecided.  Major changes like this are the norm in these transition years and are just one of the reasons these classes tend to be lackluster.

I don’t know if lackluster is an accurate description for this Husky class, however.  It’s certainly not spectacular, but after a slow start, Petersen and company reeled in over a dozen recruits this month.  They’re a solid bunch that should fill holes in the depth and provide some solid starters down the road.  There are few if any obvious stars, but those are the hardest ones to get any time. It’s even harder in this case, since the staff is largely recruiting players they were after at BSU, and BSU just didn’t have the wherewithal to land many guys who are clearly elite.  Still, this is a good group that looks much better than the last few coaching change classes.  Put simply, it’s a better class than I expected, but probably not as good as the staff will need in the future to win the Pac-12.

Current Commitments

After an unfortunate decommit from TE Chase Blakley tonight (to BSU, strangely enough), the class currently sits at 16.  It’s unclear how many the coaches will take, but there’s scholarship room for 22 right now, and they might take a full 25, expecting more transfers before the fall.  As I said, the class looks solid but not incredible.  It’s heavy on defensive backs, the one roster group clearly short on numbers, and the rest of the positions are distributed pretty evenly.

The highest rated player is QB K.J. Carta-Samuels, who the Huskies landed after he was the victim of a coaching change himself. A longtime commit to Vanderbilt, he opened up his recruitment when James Franklin left for Penn State, and the Huskies were the lucky recipients.  He’s another big, athletic QB with a good arm, and gives UW an impressive stable of young QBs and some insurance should one decide to transfer.

After KJCS, it’s hard to pick another standout right now. Sydney Jones, who committed last night, is drawing a lot of excitement as a big athlete who could play CB, safety or even WR. Offensive tackle Matt James is one of the few Sarkisian holdovers and projects to be a solid starter at a thin position. A trio of safeties, Darren Gardenhire, Jojo MacIntosh and Lavon Washington, all look good and could compete for immediate playing time, although it’s possible one or more might show up at safety instead.  There are a number of other notable current commits, but we’ll talk about them when they actually sign.

Who’s Left?

At the top of the board are two Washington state standouts: Budda Baker and Kaleb McGary. Budda, a Bellevue High safety who could also play some offense, already endeared himself to Husky fans by dropping his Oregon commitment, claiming he couldn’t imagine living in Eugene for four years.  He’s now choosing between UW and UCLA, and no one really has any clue what he’s going to decide.  He’s a major impact player who could start immediately for the Huskies.

McGary, from Fife, is a huge athlete at 6′ 8″ 280 lbs who will likely play DE, or possibly OT or TE.  He’s a bit of a project, albeit a highly rated one who looks like he could grow into a star.  He’s looking at Oregon State and Wisconsin along with UW. While he grew up a Husky, he’s said he’s more of a country guy and might choose a smaller town over Seattle.

They’re in on a number of other guys as well.  DE Jaylen Johnson is a big DE who was committed to BSU with Petersen.  Most expect him to switch to UW soon, although these things are never a guarantee.  RB/LB Kalen Ballage is an ASU commit who visited last weekend.  He’s an incredible athlete and would be a major steal.  CB Naijiel Hale, son of the late rapper Nate Dogg, is visiting this weekend, although it seems a longshot he’ll become a Husky at this point.  S/LB Drew Lewis, another local boy, was a longtime Husky commit, but is waiting to see if USC will make a late offer before he decides.

There aren’t any more glaring holes to be filled on the roster, so I imagine the staff will look to fill the rest of the class with the best players they can get.  Another WR would be nice, and maybe a linebacker and D tackle.  The fun part of a new coaching staff is that new names pop up every day.  Don’t be surprised if something major happens in the next week.

Signing day is on Wednesday February 5th, and we’ll be back then, if not before.  If you’re looking for more updates, leave a question in the comments, or follow http://www.uwdawgpound.com and dawgman.com.

Go Huskies!

-Matthew

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by | January 5, 2014 · 1:31 pm

The Mariners Rebuilding is Getting Easier (Maybe)

The Mariners have spent more money this offseason than at any time in their history, and it’s not even close.  Robinson Cano’s $240 million is more money than the team had spent in the last 8 offseasons combined.  It doesn’t appear the team is done with the spending, either. There are rumblings they will heavily pursue Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka, who will command between $100-150 million.

The competition will be thick for Tanaka, but there are other options, should the Mariners decide to pursue them.  Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Garza and Ervin Santana form a solid trio of free agent starters who should require less than half the money Tanaka will likely receive.  On offense, Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales are still on the market, and there are a number of possible trade targets. I expect the Mariners to add another impact player, as well as some filler for the bullpen, before spring training begins next month.

The Mariners sudden spending has received some skeptical and even negative reviews.  Some of that is justified.  Cano’s contract will likely be a bit of a burden toward the end of the deal, and the team once again has a bit of a logjam at the 1B/DH slots.

I think more of the consternation comes from the idea that the Mariners don’t know what they’re doing, however.  They’ve spent so long building with youth, many see the big free agent moves as desperation, an abandonment of a plan that wasn’t working.  I don’t know if the Mariners have any clue what they’re doing, but I don’t think the sudden spending is a sign of abandoning the youth movement.  I actually think it’s the next step in making the youth successful.

If Mariner fans have learned anything over the last five to ten season, it’s that young players frequently fail. Outside of Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager, there haven’t been many Mariner prospects who have come to Seattle and performed as hoped.  Some players have become decent contributors after a few seasons, but that only illustrates the other problem of a rebuild: prospects usually take a while to become players with which a team can win.

Those dual restraints, young players’ elongated timetables and frequent failure, are why so many teams rebuilding solely with youth never improve much.  There are just too many holes to fill, and if a player doesn’t improve into a solid starter, the team has wasted two or three seasons in the waiting.

What the Mariners hopefully did with the Cano signing and potentially another long-term deal or two, is remove some uncertainty. They now employ one of the best players in baseball at a position that was previously something of a question mark.  Add in the dependable Seager, and that’s two of the tougher positions to fill now ably manned.  If Brad Miller and Mike Zunino can solidify shortstop and catcher, respectively, the line-up is starting to look good for the future.  Maybe Michael Saunders, Justin Smoak and/or Dustin Ackley move from mediocre to league-average or better.  Suddenly the team only has a a couple of positions that are question marks. Instead of relying on seven unestablished players, they’re only relying on two, which is much easier to focus on and fix.  And while they’re being fixed, the team is still getting production from the other spots.

There’s no guarantee any or all of those players will work out, but the point is that established performers are hugely important for rebuilding teams.  It’s the difference between buying furniture for a whole house versus just one room.  Not only is the cost so much higher for the whole house, it’s also overwhelming and harder to decide what to focus on. Some rooms (or positions) will not receive the same attention or resources.  Narrowing the scope to one room (or position) is much easier to deal with.

Establishing solid starters has one other benefit.  Eventually, those solid starters will need to be upgraded, or maybe replaced as they hit free agency.  When that time hits, the team can now focus their farm system on the trade market.  It’s hard to make trades when all of the prospects are needed to fill holes.  When there’s only one hole, it can either be filled with a prospect, or if that’s not possible, prospects can be moved in trade.  Nick Franklin a good current example of these benefits.  With Cano taking his starting spot, Franklin is now a great trade piece, or he could possibly be moved to the outfield to fill a hole there.  Prospects have no inherent value. They only exist to make the big league team better, whether by their own performance or by being used in a trade for someone else.  There’s no reason the Mariner farm system should get worse as the team gets better, unless there’s a change in the scouting department.  A strong farm system is the best way keep a competitive team good. It keeps payroll down and lets the team move on from aging starters before they begin to decline with a big salary.

Even as the Mariners improve, their prospects will still fail at fairly high rates. That’s just the way it works.  What free agent signings can do is relieve the sting of those failures. The team can be more patient with prospects, who won’t feel the pressure to be immediately successful and carry the team.  There’s no guarantee the Mariners will be successful with these moves, but anyone saying they don’t make the team immediately better or have benefits in a youth movement has too narrow a view of the situation.  Plus, Mariner fans now get to watch Robinson Cano, and no one should complain about that.

-Matthew

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by | December 11, 2013 · 2:11 pm

New Mariners! Lots of Them!

The Mariners have become the center of the baseball news universe.  Some of the news is bad (see Andrew’s post below), but most of it is quite good.  This is going to be a fairly quick recap of the M’s moves so far, with a look at what else they might have in store.  I would expect more moves within the next week, so I’ll have a more comprehensive look at the 2014 Mariners once the dust settles.

Additions

As I write this, there are three new Mariners.  The big one is 2B Robinson Cano.  He reportedly agreed to a 10 year $240 million deal last week, and will likely be announced in Seattle on Friday or so.  A week later, I am still in a bit of shock that Cano is a Mariner.  He is the best second baseman in baseball, and has been the centerpiece of the Yankees’ offense for the last five years plus.  That he will likely play out the remainder of his career in Seattle is a testament to money, both as the deciding factor for most player and the amount of it the Mariners have to spend if they’re so inclined.

Cano supplants Nick Franklin and/or Dustin Ackley (trade chips, but not sure to be moved).  As much as one might like those two guys, Cano is a massive, massive upgrade.  He’s the first major line-up threat Seattle has had in years.  His offensive game is reminiscent of Edgar’s, and he plays Gold Glove caliber defense.  It’s likely the last 3-4 years of the contract will be a drawback, but I’m not especially worried.  The immediate benefits are huge, and it’s likely baseball’s changing economics will render the dollar amounts less shocking by 2020 or so.  This is a stunning addition, unlike anything the Mariners have ever done.

Today, two separate deals brought DH/1B/maybe outfielders.  The first was a free agent deal for former Brewer Corey Hart.   Continue reading →

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