Tag Archives: Kalei Auelua

Catching Up with the 2012 UW Freshman, Pt. 1

The Husky football season is largely over and temporarily stuck in that weird purgatory bowl game and the end of the season.  The Husky coaches spent most of last week out recruiting, and there are visitors scheduled for the next few weekends. We’ll get into recruiting more in the coming months, but I thought this would be a good time look at last year’s recruiting class to see what they did this past season.

I’ll start with the redshirts, the guys who didn’t play this past season.  Depending on how much I feel like writing, the guys who played might come in a later post.  We’re just going to have to see how this goes!

The Offensive Linemen
Jake Eldrenkamp, Taylor Hindy, Nathan Dean, Cory Fuavai
I’m lumping all of these guys together because they’re offensive linemen and I therefore know hardly anything about them. No offense, guys.  Eldrenkamp is the most highly thought of, and probably would have been the next to play if the Great Injury Plague of 2012 had continued. Dean was considered a tackle prospect during recruitment, and the Huskies need those.  Fuavai used to be Cory English, but changed his name last summer.  Still confuses me sometimes.  I look at the roster and say, Who’s that guy?  So confusing.  Hindy was a surprise commit right at signing day.

This group was conspicuous for the lack of some major local recruits like Josh Garnett and Zach Banner, but it’s a solid class still.  That redshirt year is standard and necessary, and hopefully the only reason any of this four will have to play in 2013 is for exceptional talent.  Another year to get better and stronger is almost always needed for players in this position.

The QB’s
Cyler Miles & Jeff Lindquist
Both Miles and Lindquist were among the best QB recruits in the country as big, mobile guys with good arms and intelligence.  Miles drew  raves all through the season and is reportedly further along than Lindquist.  I’ve even seen some suggest Lindquist might change positions, but that seems premature.  Both have outstanding talent, but it takes players different lengths of time to acclimate to college football.  Both will have a shot to find playing time in 2013, but it would be best for all involved if Keith Price could get back to good football.  Starting a freshman quarterback is rarely a good option, but these two are not the typical freshman quarterback, or so we’ve been told.  They were the highlight of the class on signing day and have done nothing to tarnish their appeal. Continue reading

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