Tag Archives: UW Huskies

by | September 10, 2013 · 9:23 pm

Head of the Pac: Week Two

This is a new thing I’m trying this season.  Last week it was just called Ranking the Pac-12.  Prepare yourself for a slew of bad “Pac” related titles until I find one I like.  Anyway, this is not a power ranking.  It is a subjective ranking of who had the best week the week before.  Teams who didn’t play will be left off unless something significant enough to merit a ranking happened. This week there was one interesting game and lots of blowouts of cupcakes.  The schedule gets a lot better in week 3.  Let’s do this.

1. WSU Cougars beat USC 10-7

I have some misgivings putting the Cougs at the top, because they really didn’t look too great, USC looked horrific, and they’re the Cougars.  Still, WSU got a road win over USC and is leading the Pac-12 North.  I would never have guessed either of those things would have happened this year.  WSU’s defense looked good, but there’s no arguing it was helped significantly by terrible quarterbacking and worse play-calling for USC.  The offense didn’t manage a touchdown, and was maybe worse than USC’s before the big catch and run that put them in field goal position.  The Cougars are certainly better than they were, but I’m unconvinced of how much.  Strangely, it’s the defense that has made the greatest strides under Mike Leach.

2. Oregon Ducks beat Virginia 59-10

The Ducks weren’t perfect, but any complaints are extremely minor when you beat an FBS  team on the road by 49 points.  I doubt Tennessee will fare much better this week.  The Ducks might not be challenged much before coming to Husky Stadium in a few weeks.

3. Utah Utes beat Weber State 70-7

Everything gets a little murky through the vast middle of these rankings.  No one played anyone good and most teams won big.  Extra points and the number three ranking to Utah for doing something I wouldn’t have believed them capable of before the season: putting up 70 points.  That’s a lot, regardless of the opponent.

4. ASU Sun Devils beat Sacramento St. 55-0

I like blowout shutouts.  This is an appropriate score given the teams involved, but it’s always encouraging to see a team nearly perfect on opening night.  This Saturday gets much tougher with Wisconsin coming to town.

5. Stanford Cardinal beat San Jose St. 34-13

Stanford wasn’t incredible, but they handled one of the week’s better opponents easily.  Offense is going to be the question for the Tree.  They’re lacking in established skill players outside of QB Kevin Hogan.  The defense and O Line will have to carry them until they can get clicking.

6. Arizona Wildcats beat UNLV 58-13

Another big win over a weak opponent. The passing game is struggling for the Cats.  Luckily they have All-American Kadeem Carey back from suspension.  Carey is one of the few players to ever be suspended for being an All-American.  The guy’s amazing in so many ways.

7. Oregon State Beavers beat Hawaii 33-14

We have reached the section: “Unimpressive wins against terrible opponents”.  Hawaii is terrible.  Even USC beat them handily.  OSU did too, but it took a while.  The game was in question for the first half before the Beavs pulled away.  They also lost the defense’s captain and maybe best player, LB Mike Doctor. At least he should heal quickly (Doctor joke).  Actually, probably not: 6-8 weeks out. The O Line is beat up as well.  We’ll see if the Beavers can rally, but it’s looking like a potentially long season.  Sean Mannion and Brandin Cooks are pretty great though.

8. (Tie) California Golden Bears beat Portland St. 37-30; Colorado Buffaloes beat Central Arkansas 38-24

Many similarities here.  Both teams struggled to beat bad opponents.  Both had some standout offensive performances: Jared Goff went over 450 yards for the second game in a row for Cal, with many of those yards going to WR Bryce Treggs; Buff WR Paul Richardson had his second straight 200 yard receiving game.  That’s never been done before in the Pac-12.  Good stuff.  Unfortunately, the rest of the team isn’t that great, for both squads.

10. USC Trojans lost to WSU 10-7

Oh, USC.  Where to even begin?  This was one of the worst offensive performances I have ever seen.  Both quarterbacks are bad and made worse by Lane Kiffin’s poor handling and ridiculously terrible play-calling.  Maybe my biggest question is why both quarterbacks are so bad.  Both guys were highly rated and possess obvious physical skills.  It’s no surprise if one of them doesn’t develop, but I find it quite strange that both are struggling so greatly.  One more strike against Kiffin.  Unfortunately for him, he’s already wearing a Golden Sombrero.  The defense is good enough to sustain them if they can show even the slightest threat on offense, but that’s looking like a lot to ask for at the moment. That sentence is really depressing if you simultaneously look at their roster.  They have so much talent it’s crazy.  This team is going to have to drastically improve if they want to save Kiffin’s job, let alone get to a bowl game.  I’d put Kiffin at about a 3% chance of returning next year.

-Matthew

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by | September 3, 2013 · 8:57 pm

Pac-12 Rankings: Week 1

Hello there, and welcome to the first week of the Good Guys Pac-12 power rankings!  These aren’t really going to be true power rankings though, because everyone does those and they never really change from week to week.  Instead, I’m going to rank teams based on who had the best week.

As such, this will mostly be a ranking of who had the weekend’s best wins to worst losses.  It has no bearing on who is the best overall team.  I repeat, these are not rankings of which team is the best.  Looking ahead, UW is number one on the list, because they demolished a ranked team.  I don’t think they’re the best team in the conference, but they easily had the best win.  All clear?

Stanford and Arizona State didn’t play, so I’m leaving them off.  That will be the case for most teams with byes throughout the year, unless something terrible or great happens to them during practice.  Not likely, but players get hurt during practice or arrested in Eugene.  Things happen.  On to the rankings!

1. Washington Huskies

No team made more of a statement than the Huskies.  Whether or not Boise State is a bit down this year, they were maybe the best opponent of any Pac-12 team this weekend.  The Huskies disposed of them with little mercy.  It was a dominating win for a program that needed one.

2. UCLA Bruins

It gets a little harder to distinguish at this point.  Nevada’s a decent team and UCLA whupped them 58-20.  I’m giving them bonus blowout points to bump them ahead of a couple of other teams.

3. Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado beat Colorado State 41-27.  CSU isn’t very good, but if you remember 2012, the Buffs didn’t win too many games.  One, to be exact.  They also lost to CSU to start last year, so this is a big improvement.  By all accounts, Colorado looked greatly improved, and for a program in need of some hope, this is a big win. Continue reading →

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by | September 2, 2013 · 12:21 pm

A Few Thoughts on a Perfect Husky Win

HSThe Huskies christened the new Husky Stadium on Saturday with their best win in years.  They’ve had wins against better teams, like the upsets of USC and Stanford, but it’s been a long time since they dominated a good team so thoroughly.  I’m not sure how good Boise State will be this year, but they looked like a solid team and were still outclassed in every way by the Huskies.  I’m not going to give a full recap, but here are a few thoughts:

  • First, the stadium.  Simply put, it is everything fans could have asked for.  It’s not glitzy and opulent, but it’s classy and open and perfectly designed for the fans.  And it is so close.  The proximity to the field without the track is what grabbed me immediately.  It’s such a sizable difference, there’s no real way to describe it.  You really have to walk through the stands and see it for yourself.  If you weren’t there Saturday, I’d make every effort to see a game this season.  You won’t be disappointed.  There are also a full day’s worth of high school games there this Saturday, including some big-time local match-ups and quite a few Husky recruits. I can’t imagine a better place to watch a college football game.  The location has always been perfect.  Now there’s a building that not only doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall down, but is also up-to-date and beautiful and possessing all the amenities anyone could want.

    From Our East End Zone Seats

    From Our East End Zone Seats

  • Sean Parker may have saved the season.  The air had gone out of the stadium a bit after Price’s interception and BSU’s first few plays going for easy yardage.  Who knows what would have happened had BSU gone for a touchdown to start the game.  Luckily, Parker saved them with a beautiful interception that reignited the crowd.  The offense went straight down the field for a TD, and there was no looking back from there.
  • Speaking of Parker, the whole secondary looked excellent.  The two new starters, Greg Ducre and Will Shamburger, were solid, particularly Shamburger, who was everywhere.  Marcus Peters made multiple plays and showed a physicality unseen in a UW corner for a while. This group had questions before the year, but for one game, they looked fast, physical and good.
  • The defense was excellent and had a ton of guys make plays, but Danny Shelton really stood out to me.  BSU ran the ball decently, but that was to be expected.  It was quite noticeable when Shelton left the field.  He did a solid job all day moving the middle of the line.  By the third and fourth quarter, he had completely worn down his opposition and was getting pressure right in Joe Southwick’s face.  Shelton is the key to the defense, and the signs are very impressive after one game.
  • One last thing on the defense.  They gave up yards, but they came up huge when they had too.  Peters’ pass break-up in the back of the end zone  at the beginning of the third was huge.  So was the fourth down stop toward the end of the third.  My favorite play was the third down stop in the first before the blocked field goal.  Kikaha (great for his first game back) broke into the backfield to get the first hit, and then the Dawgs swarmed Ajayi.  He ended up going down in a pile of about eight Huskies.
  • I wrote on Friday that a key would be finding a receiver or two to contribute.  The Huskies did better than that.  Jaydon Mickens and John Ross were revelations.  The Broncos had no answers for them when they caught a screen or quick pass to the edge.  The Huskies had significantly better playmakers all day, and it feels like that might not change for much of the season.  Kevin Smith also had a solid day, and while the back-up tight ends didn’t do a lot in the receiving game, they blocked well and did get a touchdown on a beautiful play by a scrambling Price to Joshua Perkins.  I don’t think there was a Husky skill player getting regular minutes who didn’t do something impressive.
  • Keith Price and his offensive line were excellent as well.  Price shook off the interception to be nearly perfect.  He looked loose and confident, and he got more creative and exciting as the game progressed.  The quick throws are a good fit for him.  It helped to not be on his back every play.  The line did an excellent job in both pass and run blocking.  They need to clean up a few penalties, but they made a good case Saturday that they are night and day better than last year.  I’ll be curious to watch them improve as the season goes. It’s still a young group.  Also interesting will be seeing if the Huskies will start to throw deep more and how ASJ’s return will influence defenses.  In case you forgot, the Huskies were playing without an All-American.

There was nothing to dislike about this game.  The Huskies gave up yards, but they didn’t give up a play of more than 18 yards or a touchdown.  I wasn’t excited about the Husky pass rush while I was at the game, but it looks better rewatching it on TV.  Mostly, the Huskies looked like a team taking the next step.  They executed crisply, didn’t make mistakes, and didn’t let up at any point.  They were athletic and skilled.  This is what we’ve been waiting to see, and if the Dawgs keep playing like this, they’re going to win a lot of games.

-Matthew

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by | August 30, 2013 · 10:16 pm

UW vs. Boise State Predictions

Hello Dawg fans!  Husky football’s biggest night in over a decade is finally here.  It promises to be a magical night, full of the type of ceremony and occasion reserved for the uniquest of games.  Hopefully the pregame magic carries into the game.

I usually write something at the beginning of these predictions, but all of the Good Guys wrote novels this week, so I’ll keep it short. I did hear something this morning while listening to Rick Neuheisel that caught my attention, though.  He was giving an overview of the Pac-12, which he expects to be very strong.  He then said that the conference is loaded with talented young quarterbacks.  This caught me by surprise, because I kind of think of the conference as down in QBs right now.  Mariota and Hundley are elite. Taylor Kelly’s very good.  After that, there are a handful of veterans who are solid and could get better, and then a bunch of underclassmen in their first seasons as starters.  It doesn’t seem loaded to me.

Neuheisel didn’t elaborate, so he could have been referring mainly to Mariota, Hundley and Kelly.  Maybe he’s seen some of the young starters and thinks highly of them.  Whatever he meant, it will be an interesting year to watch the quarterbacks.  For years, the leaders of the conference could be determined by who had senior quarterbacks that year.  That’s changed slightly as offensive systems have changed and so forth, but it’s still the most important position and always will be.

The implications for the Huskies are obvious, and have been all off-season.  If Keith Price is good, the Huskies should be good.  If Price is great, the Huskies should be in for a special season.  It could be as simple as that.

Joe

2013 is the dawning of a new era in Husky football:  the opening of new Husky Stadium.  Don’t underestimate the importance of this. When AD Scott Woodward took over in 2008, renovating Husky Stadium was number one on his to-do list. Coming from LSU and helping oversee renovations to their athletic facilities, as well as seeing first hand how Nick Saban won a national title in 2003, gave Woodward the blue print for success: find the right head coach and get the football facilities upgraded to first class.  With the hiring of Steve Sarkisian, Woodward went all in and gave the reigns of the program to Coach Sark, therefore freeing him up to focus on renovating Husky Stadium.  Five years later, on Aug 31, 2013, Husky Stadium will re-open to the public as arguably the most state-of-the-art college stadium in America.  This was the plan all along, to compete at the highest levels of CFB.  A lot has been made of the past four seasons under Sark.  Year one going 5-7, bringing respectability to the program after the darkness that was the Willingham era.  Then three straight 7-6 seasons have left some wondering if Sark has the ability to take the next step.  I say he does, but with a caveat:  let’s see how the next couple years play out with the new facilities as the recruiting tool we all think it can be.  This program has been in “facilities limbo” for the better part of three years, which doesn’t help recruiting.  Now being settled into home sweet home, let’s let this regime prove one way or another it belongs with the elite.
On the field, Saturday night’s game is the most important early season home game since hosting Miami in 2000. Short and simple, it’s a must win, for many reasons.  Obviously, it’s big because it’s the opening of the new stadium, it’s national TV, it’s a rematch against a team you probably should have beat in the Vegas Bowl nine months ago.  But for me it’s huge because of the toughness of UW’s schedule (we’ve been down this road before) and the perceived expectations put on the program by fans.  UW *must* go 3-0 in non conference, and then beat Arizona in their Pac-12 opener at Husky Stadium to move to 4-0.  The consensus is UW has to get to *at least* 8 wins, but probably 9, maybe 10.  In order for that to happen, their margin of error is nil.  A 7-0 home record is a must in light of their conference road games: Stanford, ASU, UCLA and Oregon State.  Have fun Googling the last time UW won at any of those road venues.  It’s been a while.  And with the mediocre road performances by Sark’s teams in the past, the “8-10” win confidence from UW fans leaves me a bit scared, but not upset; I love the high expectations.  So you can see the math here:  UW going 7-0 at home (includes beating Oregon which they haven’t done in nine straight tries, none of which were close), then 1-3 on the road gets them to 8-4.  Razor thin margin of error.  Hence, the importance of Saturdays game.  Throw in the fact UW’s last two games were total heart breakers to the abysmal Wazzu Cougars and Boise State, and this team has a healthy Mt. Rainier size chip on their shoulder.  Add all of this up and I see a UW victory Saturday night.
Prediction:  UW 30 – Boise St 21
Andrew
Finally, it’s here.  I’ve been counting down for 91 days.  I just spent half an hour watching Husky highlights and I have some other games in mind for later this evening.  This game comes with hype and no lack of story lines.  Last night, news broke that ASJ has been suspended for this game, met with the media’s approval.  We have Deontae Cooper’s first game in a Husky uniform after working back from 3 ACL tears.  We have two teams playing a rematch from last season’s bowl, which was a very close football game.  Not to mention, this is the first game of the year which holds it’s own excitement.  None of these really matter to me.
Tomorrow night, a new age of Husky Football begins.  A renovated Husky Stadium will be open after 20 months of Dawg fans being held out of it.  There have been only been rave reviews of this place from those that have gone inside and toured.  It’s expected that Husky Stadium will now be considered one of the very best stadiums in the nation.  With this new stadium comes a new team that is as talented as any team the Dawgs have had in a decade.  There is more depth, potential stars, and speed than Sark has ever had.
Boise State comes to play the Huskies tomorrow night and I can hardly focus on the game.  I’m just so excited to be back in one of the places that I grew up.  With that being said, how can I pick a Husky loss?  The renovated stadium brings hope and that hope transfers over to the feelings I have for this team.  Yes, I’m concerned about Boise State’s pass rush against our offensive line.  I’m concerned about the defensive line holding up against BSU’s up and coming running back.  Yes, I’m concerned about their tall receivers against our smaller cornerbacks.  Yes, I’m concerned about how efficiently Boise usually operates under Coach Petersen’s great coaching. But, that’s not enough for me to think even once about picking the Broncos.
I believe the crowd will be rocking and no amount of training will get Boise ready for the noise they’ll hear on that first third down. Like Green Bay at the Clink last year, it may take them a whole half to adjust to the noise.  I believe the Huskies will have some more playmakers step up in ASJ’s absence (if he is indeed suspended), notably John Ross and Kevin Smith.  I believe the defense will speed around like we haven’t seen in years.  I believe that Keith Price will finally be back to himself after a year hiatus.  I just believe in this team.  It’s good to be home.
Prediction: Huskies 31 – Boise 21
Dan
Anyone else sick of Boise? I won’t be heartbroken if we don’t play them for another decade, but for tomorrow, they are the perfect opponent. Boise commands respect, and the Huskies know it first hand, so whereas some opponents may get overlooked with all the hype surrounding this game, I am confident UW is focused on Boise. Speaking of the hype, all forms of mojo will be on Washington’s side. The stadium, night game, revenge from last year, you name it. Tomorrow really will be a special night, and I can’t envision a script that doesn’t end with the Huskies winning. The ASJ suspension hurts, but it is not a death blow by any stretch. These teams were as even as could be last December in the Vegas Bowl. Fast forward to now, and you have a Boise team bringing back 6 starters, the fewest in the country. UW brings back 20, and is playing at home. I think the defense will carry the Huskies, and the offense will have enough to send us all home happy.

Prediction: UW 24 – Boise 16

Matthew
I see three keys to this game.  First, the Husky defense must make Boise State one dimensional.  I don’t expect them to stop the run and the pass consistently, but they have to do a solid job against one of them.  Second, the offensive line has to make it’s presence felt, both in the run game and while protecting Keith Price.  Finally, a receiver (or two or three) need to make a difference, especially if ASJ is indeed out.
I have to admit, this game scares me.  BSU is talented and the type of team that doesn’t usually get rattled first game of the year.  They should be ready to go and well-prepared.  They’ve also likely never played in an environment like this game will have, so to some degree, this game will be a test of who better handles the moment.
Too often of late, we’ve watched the Huskies come out flat or inconsistent, losing games or making them closer than they need to be. It makes it hard to trust them.  If the Dawgs are going to take the next step this year, playing with consistent toughness and effort while minimizing mistakes will be key.  Ultimately, the Huskies just need to be better.  I think it will be readily apparent early on what type of team this will be.  They don’t have to blow out Boise State, but I expect a higher level of proficiency this season.  I’m crossing my fingers that UW is able to feed off the excitement rather than being distracted and burdened by the moment.  I think a magical night will end with a win.
Prediction: Huskies 30 – BSU 24

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by | August 27, 2013 · 9:19 pm

Good Guys Pac-12 Preview

The season is two days away, so let’s fire up a conference preview!  More comprehensive previews abound, so if you want a rundown of UCLA’s secondary, you’ll have to check somewhere else.  For this preview, I’m telling you two things: which player from each team I would want on the Huskies, and how scared I would be if the Dawgs were playing given team tomorrow.  I’ll rate that 1-10, with one being an almost certain win for the Dawgs and 10 an almost certain loss.  I’ll also go through the teams in the divisional order I’d expect them to finish.  So I guess you get three things!  Enjoy.

South Division

1. Arizona State

Player I Want (PIW): This is the easiest choice in the conference, because  DT Will Sutton might be the best player in the conference.  He’s one of the best pass rushing tackles in recent memory, and has a chance to win conference defensive player of the year for the second time in a row.  That hasn’t happened since Mr. Steve Emtman.  Sutton would fit perfectly next to Danny Shelton, transforming the Husky D Line from a bit of a worry to a huge strength.

Scare-o-meter: 7.  ASU took a big step forward last year, and I think they’ll continue to move up.  They have some issues, but they also have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.  Taylor Kelly was one of the best QBs in the conference last year, and DJ Foster and Marion Grice is the top running back duo in the Pac-12.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish as low as third in the south, but I’m betting they fight off a tough early schedule to make the Pac-12 Championship Game.

2. USC

PIW: Also an easy choice: Marquise Lee, the best receiver in all the land.  Lee brings me to an interesting point in deciding on these players.  The best player on a team isn’t always the guy who would help the Huskies the most.  Defensive lineman Morgan Breslin, for instance, plays at a position of greater need for UW.  In close calls, UW’s need wins out.  Sometimes the greatness of one player far outweighs the utility of another, though.  Anyone who would turn down a chance to see Marquise Lee on their side every Saturday is crazy.

Scare-o-meter: 6.  As usual, USC has as much talent as anyone in the conference.  They have three questions holding them back: 1. Who’s QB? Max Wittek and Cody Kessler are both expected to play on Thursday. 2. Running back is uncertain, with Silas Redd injured.  Lots of talent here though.  3. Lane Kiffin is still coach.  He’s a complete x-factor.  Still, aside from losing Matt Barkley and a few others, this is a roster that was expected to challenge for a national championship last year.  They could be a load if a QB emerges and Kiffin doesn’t sabotage them.

3. UCLA Continue reading →

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by | August 24, 2013 · 10:19 pm

Keys to a Breakout

Steve Sarkisian has done a solid job of transforming the Huskies from a winless and destitute program into a perfectly average squad.  They’ve won seven games for three straight years, marking 2013 as the time to step past average.  Realizing that it’s time for this to happen is easy, but actually accomplishing it is not.

While it’s not easy for bad teams to get back to mediocre or average, it’s also not terribly difficult.  When a team is terrible, especially as bad as the 2008 Huskies were, there are so many areas for improvement.  If every area of the team is bad, each area improved brings the team up.  The players brought in don’t have to be amazing, they just have to be better than the bad ones they’re replacing.  Often, just the change in coaching or attitude summons improvement from the holdovers.  Improving from terrible is not that hard.

Improving from average to good or great is hard.  Becoming good and then great requires good and great players, and unsurprisingly, those players are a lot harder to find.  Sometimes, coaching can elevate average players, and sometimes offensive or defensive schemes can neutralize talent disparities.  Most often, a team just needs to find better talent and better athletes.  Talent often underachieves, but poor talent rarely beats elite talent.  It’s just the way it is. Continue reading →

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by | July 14, 2013 · 12:48 pm

48 Days

Husky Stadium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 31st. Boise State. Husky Stadium.

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by | January 13, 2013 · 8:09 pm

UW Recruiting 1/13

I posted an overview of the Huskies current recruiting class a week ago.  There hasn’t been a ton of news since then, but there’s been enough to warrant an update.  I’d recommend that you read the previous post first, but hey, you can do whatever you like!

The first news that came out this week was also the best, as the Huskies received a commitment from cornerback Jermaine Kelly.  He’s a pretty elite guy, one of the best athletes on the west coast.  He’s 6’2″ and electric enough that he could easily be a difference-maker at receiver if they needed him there.  Greg Biggins from Scout.com, who is one of the better evaluators out there in my opinion, says he has potential to be the best cornerbackout of this class in the west in a year or two, and that’s against some talented guys.  He had originally committed to UCLA before de-committing.  The rumors are that he had an issue with one of their coaches, and while there’s nothing on the record, supposedly the coach was former UW coach Demetrice Martin, who left last year for UCLA and took quite a few UW recruits with him.  Ironic, if you ask me.  I’ll take Kelly over all of the guys we lost last year.  Hopefully he won’t have to play this year, but he probably could and has all-league potential down the road.

Moving on, the other big news this week were the weekend visits that just finished.  The Dawgs reportedly had nine players on campus.  Six of them are already previously committed, and they all seemed to love their visit, as is usually the case.  The other three was a group of southern boys.  MLB Reuben Foster, out of Alabama, is the headliner.  He’s the top-rated linebacker in the country and one of the top 5 players overall, by most accounts.  He’s a difference-maker on the level of Shaq Thompson, if not better.  Most think that the Huskies are a long-shot to sign Foster, just because of distance.  I would agree with that, but Foster consistently says that he’s interested in getting away from home, and there’s a tweet going around that the percentage chance that he’ll sign with the Huskies is high, or something like that.  It’s a long way to signing day still, and he’s making visits to his local SEC schools in the next few weeks, so don’t get your hopes up.  But get them up a little, because this would be a shocker.

The other two who visited were OT Maurice Swain and Joe Sanders, who could play on either line, both from Georgia.  Unsurprisingly, the two are friends with Foster, who lived in Georgia before moving to Alabama.  Both are solid prospects in their own right, and would fill a need on the offensive line, but I would consider them long shots to be Huskies unless all three decide to come to Seattle together.  Another friend of Foster’s, OL Joshua Outlaw, was also supposed to visit, but he didn’t end up making it.  It’s unclear whether he’ll reschedule for later this month.  He’s a Tennessee commit and also pretty unlikely to end up in Seattle.

There are more players coming in this weekend and the couple after that, although none are quite so packed as this one was, yet.  That can change in a hurry.  As I said last week, this class currently looks phenomenal, one of the best since UW added Reggie Williams and a bunch of other top prospects a long time ago.  Right now, they’re sitting on 21 commits, most of which seem pretty sure to be Huskies, if they can make it into school.  CB Kevin King reportedly took a visit to WSU this weekend, which might end up meaning nothing.  Sometimes though, the coaching staff will tell a player that if he takes other visits, they’re pulling his scholarship offer.  No idea if that did/will happen with King, but it’s something to watch.  He’s one of their lower-rated players, especially now that Kelly is on-board.

Right now, the Husky class is balanced and deep, except at offensive line.  I get the impression that the Husky coaches are looking for a couple of O-linemen and are otherwise focused on hauling in some big-time prospects that are still considering them.  They don’t have any holes they need to fill, so they’re just trying to get the biggest impact players they can.  I could be totally wrong, of course, but that seems to be the direction things are going.  The previously mentioned Foster is probably the biggest fish they’re trying to land, but there are a few others as well:

  1. Myles Jack – The Bellevue linebacker has been committed to UCLA for a long time, but the Huskies have gone hard after him just as long.  Lots of people think he will eventually switch to UW, while some think he could even end up at Oregon.  Personally, I doubt he ends up a Husky, but I don’t really know anything.  He’s a phenomenal player and could possibly play right away.  I hope they get him, I just don’t have a great feeling about it.
  2. Eddie Vanderdoes – Vanderdoes is one of the top couple defensive tackles in the country.  He was committed to USC before decommitting to consider five schools.  UW is one of them, but it doesn’t sound real promising.  Best bet is that he ends up at UCLA or Notre Dame, but anything can happen when Tosh Lupoi’s working on a kid.
  3. Nico Falah – Another USC commit, Falah is an OT from California and would fill a huge need.  While still committed to USC, he’s strongly considering UW as well.  All things equal, I think he’s a Trojan.  Given their scholarship restrictions though, it’s possible USC pulls his scholarship or something, and then UW will be in good shape.  There have been concerns with his performance at camps and other things, but he has a ton of potential and the Huskies badly need tackles.
  4. Patrick Enewally – Enewally isn’t as highly rated as the previous three, but he’s also supposedly more likely to be a Husky.  He’s a cover safety, a position where the Huskies could use a little depth.  Last I heard he was considered UW and Boise State, leaning toward the Huskies, but I don’t really know for sure.

There are plenty of other players out there, but these are the ones that UW is known to be working hard to get.  The last few years, they’ve had a surprise on signing day, so hopefully there’s someone out there that none of the recruiting services know anything about or weren’t aware the Huskies were recruiting.  That’s always fun.  I’ll be back with another update in a couple of weeks, or sooner if there’s news.  Go Dawgs!

-Matthew

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