Tag Archives: Kasen Williams

by | October 16, 2010 · 8:28 am

UW and the Elusive 5-Star Recruit

Fans are throwing out a lot of reasons and blame for the Huskies’ losing ways, some justified, some ridiculous.  While there are certainly lots of factors, in my mind the only one that’s really significant is the talent level of the current players.  Coaching is a vital part of college sports, the ability to make players better as they spend time in your program.  The previous coaching staff failed miserably at that task.  It remains to be seen how this staff does in that regard.  Just as important, though, is recruiting.  It’s a lot easier to coach those players into impact players when they’re entering at an already high level.

Unfortunately for the Huskies, far too many potential impact players have turned UW down in recent years.  Even in bad years, UW gets their share of good players, probably always will.  But going back to the class of 2002 (as far back as Scout.com’s database shows) and excluding the 2011 class that has yet to sign, the Huskies have only gotten two high school recruits who were listed as 5-star prospects.  Jon Lyon was also a 5-star guy, but he was a junior college recruit and those rankings always seem a little fuzzy to me, so I’m only going to talk about high school here.

Recruiting stars aren’t always accurate, or predictors of success.  The Huskies best defender, Mason Foster, was a 2-star player.  Jake Locker was a 4-star.  People scout players differently, and the players are high schoolers, meaning they have a ton of growing left to do, both physically and mentally.  Again, college coaching plays a major role as well, which is what really killed the Huskies the past decade.  Regardless, the Huskies are struggling right now because of a lack of impact players, particularly on defense.  They don’t have a Vontaze Burfict or Akeem Ayers or Rahim Moore or Shayne Skov, a freak of nature of whom the offense is always aware.  Continue reading →

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by | August 27, 2010 · 6:13 pm

Kasen Williams Commits!

One of the top receivers in the nation officially committed to be a Dawg tonight!  Welcome Kasen!  Woof woof!

Andrew

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by | August 12, 2010 · 2:14 pm

Kasen and ASJ

I don’t have much to report but every day gets us closer to the two biggest recruits in Washington committing.  With these days, I’m becoming more and more confident that Kasen and ASJ are going to be Huskies.  I don’t have any inside information, other than what I’ve read, but I’m a lot more confident now than I was last week.

To review, Kasen Williams is a receiver from Skyline who is rated as the top receiver in the nation by a few sources.  Austin Sefarian-Jenkins is rated the #2 tight-end by most recruiting services, although rumors are flying around that he could change positions once he gets to college.  Both of these guys would be huge gets, arguably the most important commits the Dawgs could get.

ASJ is making his announcement on the 16th and Williams is on the 27th.  We’ll keep you updated!  This could turn into a fun month for the Huskies even if they don’t have any football games.

Andrew

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by | August 4, 2010 · 7:53 pm

Countdown to Camp: Recruiting

5 days until camp!  Today, we’ll look at some of the 2011 recruits who have committed and might commit to play football at Washington.  Sark and staff have had a great start to this class and it has potential to get a way better.  Let’s take a look at some players.

Verbal Commits (as  reported by Scout.com):

Jarett Finau- TE (Offered by Arizona, BYU, Hawaii, Utah State, and WSU)
Scott Lawyer- OLB
Josh Perkins- WR (Offered by Minnesota, New Mexico St., San Diego St., San Jose St.)
Jamaal Jones- WR (Offered by Idaho and WSU)
Connor Cree- DE (Offered by ASU, Boise St., Colorado St., Uconn, Idaho, WSU, Wyoming)
Matthew Lyons- OLB
Dexter Charles- OT (Offered by Arizona and WSU)
Taniela Tupou- DE (Offered by BYU and WSU)
Kameron Jackson- CB (Offered by Boise St. and WSU)
Aubrey Coleman- DE (Offered by ASU)
Maataua Brown- DT
Elijhaa Penny- FB (Offered by UNLV)
Evan Zeger- S (Offered by ASU, BYU, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, UCLA, UNLV, WSU)

Note: Some offers don’t get recorded by Scout.  Some people might have more offers that are not on here.  These recruits will also be getting more offers as the year goes on.

There’s not a ton to say about these guys, as many of them haven’t been scouted by the big sites (rivals and scout).  One of the best things about this list is the group of guys that are from Washington.  There are 5 guys from Washington as Sark continues to put the so-called ‘fence around the state.’  It’s also good to see the amount of defensive lineman on that list.  That is a serious need for the Dawgs.

The Big Three (Plus a few more):

Brett Hundley- QB
Hundley is one of the highest ranked quarterbacks in the nation.  He hails from Arizona and is down to two schools, UW and UCLA.  Hundley has great size (6-4, 217) and good mobility (4.65 40-time).  UCLA has received a committment from a quarterback a few weeks ago so that could be a good sign for us.  This is one of the first times Neuheisel and Sark have gone toe-to-toe for a great recruit.  Except for Josh Shirley.  Hmm… That’s weird.  I have a good feeling about our chances with Hundley.

Kasen Williams- WR
Kasen is rated as the best receiver recruit on the west coast by most sources.  He has narrowed his list to UW, Cal, Notre Dame, LSU, and Florida.  That is a big-time list.  Williams goes to Skyline and both his parents went to U-Dub.  My guess is that he ends up a Husky.  Here’s to hoping!

Austin Seferian-Jenkins- TE
Jenkins might be the most coveted of these three and he might be the hardest to get.  Jenkins if from Gig Harbor and is down to Texas and Washington (although he’s said Florida and Alabama are in the mix also).  He’s visiting Texas this week and we’ll know his decision on August 16th.  Condotta thinks he’s a UW lean and he usually knows best when it comes to all things Husky.  I’m not so sure this time but I hope so!

Brendon Bigelow- RB
Bigelow is one of the best running backs on the west coast and is actually listed as a commit to UW.  Unfortunately, he’s going to continue to look around.  Washington was the first school to offer, he jumped on that chance and now is having second thoughts, more or less.  He has spent a ton of time at California lately and I would not be surprised to see him end up there.  This whole situation reminds of Keanon Lowe with Oregon last year.  That’s not good news.

DeAnthony Thomas- CB
Here’s a quote by scout Scott Kennedy about Thomas, “The only player I’ve ever said that could legitimately be 5-Stars at four different positions, RB, S, CB, WR. The only thing that keeps Thomas from being the #1 prospect in the country is that he’s on the small side. But his combination of raw speed, change of direction, balance, and natural athleticism is at the top of the heap. His long-term future may best be served at corner where his size isn’t a liability.”  Unfortunately, Thomas is a soft commit to USC (like Bigelow is to us) and looks to be headed there.  He is visiting for the Nebraska game and that gives us a little hope.  

It’d be awesome if 3 of these 5 guys committed.  If 4 of 5 did then the Dawgs might have a top 5 class in the nation.  This class is off to a great start and if a few things break the right way this could be something special.  Go get ’em Sark!

Andrew

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