Joel Willis is a Husky
by John Berkowitz on Aug 30, 2010 2:27 PM PDT
Email
PrintJoel Willis a 5'10 18 CB from Pacifica HS in Garden Grove, Ca. has given a verbal commitment to Washington. Willis has 4.38 speed and is a threat on either side of the ball but the Huskies like him as a cornerback. Willis has offers from UW, Nebraska, Arizona, Utah, and San Diego State.
Willis becomes the 18th commitment to Washington's rapidly filling 2011 recruiting class. Scout currently has him rated as a three star prospect.
We have some decent film on him and he looks like he could be at home on either side of the ball.
38 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
GPA
What is amazing is these are not only great football recruits but outstanding students.
Noticed Joel had a 3.5 GPA impressive.
He seems very mature. did anyone noticed the smooth stride this kid has? He just explodes and runs away.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 30, 2010 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Noticed
Noticed stride runs away from defenders can also hit. Appears to be a humble kid – noticed that about all of the kids I have heard interviewed on KJR etc. – humble and well spoken. It is great to be a HUSKY! 10-2 Baby!
by lorenzothedog on Aug 30, 2010 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions
good catch, purpledawg!
Character is important, Speed kills, and the UW-Southern Cali pipelines are opening! GO HUSKIES!!
by 206 on Aug 30, 2010 3:03 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
He's a good family friend of mine
Really a good kid and just keeps getting better at football. I’m excited to watch some UW football now.
Follow me on Twitter
DAWGMAN
has Joel’s GPA at 3.66.
Also Viliami Moala gas eleven offers only one visit scheduled. Yep Huskies, Sep 17. Looks very promising. His stare will scare a lot of OLs.
I've always like this guy
At the beginning I’m didn’t know if we could get this guy. But WOW! I think he’d be another Larry Tripplet type, indeed a very great dominant player we need.
All I saw was purple
He is 3 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than Tripplet.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 30, 2010 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Joel Willis- Mr. Everything?
I like this guy either in punt return or kickoff return. Keep him healthy by being a lock down corner. Welcome to HuskyNation Joel. WOOF!
All I saw was purple
Very good speed. He also isn’t afraid to stick his face into a guy and deliver a hit.
What is unknown is how good he is in coverage – the highlight video above has very little of him on defense, and he was always playing ~10 yards off the LOS so I couldn’t see what kind of backpedal he has or hip swivel, nor could I see if he has the strength and hands to redirect guys off the LOS. Also didn’t see much to judge how he adjusts to the ball in the air, nor much indicating his jumping ability – he’s a little on the small side and will be facing a lot of 6’2"+ WRs.
Agreed.
The defensive highlights were a bit lacking on that video. Especially for a guy projected to play D.
He did show some pretty good change-of-direction on O, though. While not the best indicator, it’s all there is to judge him on.
by Sundodger on Aug 30, 2010 7:45 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Why am I seeing this on Scout?
Decision Time For Hundley
No announcement has been made public but four-star QB Brett Hundley has committed
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
Just a joke
He has not committed to anyone yet.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 30, 2010 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions
whew!!!
I was sweating over here!!!
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
by DAWGFATHER91 on Aug 30, 2010 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
bad headline
Hundley has made his decision, but according to interviews he hasn’t spoken to anyone but his family about what that decision is, so technically he hasn’t committed to a school yet. He’ll be announcing his decision publicly on the 6th. Insider buzz is that the choice is UCLA.
Well that sucks!
We need ASJ and K-Will to get on the horn to Hundley pronto!!
Last PAC-10 Rose Bowl winner not named USC....Washington
by DAWGFATHER91 on Aug 30, 2010 9:09 PM PDT up reply actions
MATER DEI
As long as were filling time how about a pipeline to Mater Dei. Wittek coming bringing Blackwell.
Wow, Blackwell, Williams, Sefarian-Jenkins all on the line of scrimmage. Which one do you double cover?
I wish I had an inkling what Sark is doing. But Kessler was their first choice.
If the Huskies don’t get Hundley, I could see Sark calling up his old buddy Kiffin and asking him if he’s really going to take 2 QB’s in this class given that Scroggins has qualified and the Trojans have major scholarship issues with the sanctions.
They'd chat
But I don’t think Kiffin would answer the question. Everybody knows the UW is on the way back up and w/ USC sitting on penalties, do you offer options to a rival coach? I don’t think so.
I could see Kiffin waiting for the 11th hour to tell one of his QBs they plan on going in a different direction. In the meantime Sark fills his class and finds a QB or two. I’m not convinced Kessler was the chosen one from the beginning. It’s not like we heated things up on Hundley after Kessler chose USC. We’ve been on Hundley from the beginning.
Still completely lost in where Hundley goes. I have no clue what he is thinking…
All I saw was purple
Kif isn't going to do Sark any favors and vice versa
It is going to be real interesting to see if the friendship can survive the rivalry.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 31, 2010 8:13 AM PDT up reply actions
with the 2 QB's
It may be a moot point anyway – I think Kessler might be an early entry guy that can count back against the 2010 class, so that would allow Kiffin to take both guys without tying up his 2011 class with 2 QB’s.
I like Pittser better
I was watching the Elite 11 show on ESPNU and he’s got a live arm and good size (although he’s about an inch shorter than I’d like). He’s accurate and seems like a pretty smart kid. He took 2nd place overall in the contest behind the Florida commit who’s the #1 ranked kid in the country. He’s a project, but a kid that with a RS year and some quality tutoring could be something special.
Wittek is a gunslinger who, like Jimmy Clausen has been told how great he is his whole life. I will absolutely not be excited to land Wittek. I would like to have Blackwell, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
I agree
I haven’t seen the kid live yet but will in the coming month if we lose out on Hundley. I can be at one of their games in 30 minutes.
by John Berkowitz on Aug 31, 2010 8:14 AM PDT up reply actions
It’s going to get interesting to see what happens. Will Hundley choose UW? If not, which direction does Sark go in order to bring in a QB capable of competing for the starting job once Locker graduates. It seems Montana is not afraid of competition. When you have a head coach who is known for grooming QBs for the pros, you have to expect competition for the starting job is going to be tough. Clearly Montana put himself in a great situation. But it’s not a lock that he takes over for Locker. Anything can happen, QBs go down due to injuries and get out played by the competition routinely every season.
Bottom line is you can’t be afraid of competition. Accepting something that is gift wrapped for you will not make you a better player. If Montana gets the job to start next season and beyond, I want him to earn it outright. Same for Hundly or anybody else that comes in. Competition for the job only makes you better and more prepared to play on both saturdays and sundays.
All I saw was purple
I think Sark would be OK with taking a QB that is a little more of a project. Hundley seems ready-to-go, but if he came here and had a hard time beating out Price and Montana, he’d likely transfer. Taking a guy that’s a little more of a project (like Pittser might be coming from a wing-T offense) might in the end work out better anyway.
When you consider that there are potentially national-level QB recruits in-state for the 2012 (Lindquist) and 2013 (Browne) classes, this is probably the best year to whiff on a top-flight QB recruit. Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have Hundley than not (especially if it means he goes to a conference foe), but this is probably the best year to go with a Plan B project type.
Agree
I’m not sure where Hundley’s head is at or what he is looking for. Their is a window of opportunity to play early at Ucla, given the sustained injuries at QB they’ve dealt with. But do you want something like that gift wrapped for you? Does that make you a better player? Not in my world.
I liked Carroll’s philosophy while at USC. Carroll was convinced that competition makes better players. He challenged his players to practice as hard as they could and compete in practice. By the time the games rolled around, many players thought the real battle was on the practice field rather then on game day. That is the atmosphere I am looking at now and in the future in the Husky program. Competition makes you better, because you have no room to be complacent and that stuff translates to more of a sense of urgency on the saturdays.
All I saw was purple
Their is a window of opportunity to play early at Ucla, given the sustained injuries at QB they’ve dealt with.
It’s not just that – Prince and Brehaut are gone after the 2012 season, so Hundley has a good shot at starting in 2013 as a RS-So. Whereas at Washington, he’d be battling Price for 3 years and Montana for 4 years. That’s not to say he might not beat out both, but he’s in a more certain situation at UCLA (if he chooses them). Yeah, you want competitive guys. But QB’s want to play, and it’s harder to get premium talent to stack up every year at QB if you’re not a proven program. And the UW isn’t there yet. They may well get there under Sark, but they haven’t done it yet.
I've mention in the past we could go with 2 plan B guys and be okay
But at the time it wasn’t a very popular opinion. The rebutal was “why settle when Sark is considered a QB guru”. Lindquist is an upper and comer and will be targeted to stay home with the Dawgs. I’ve often thought that the best way to go after marquee QB recruits is to get one every other year if at all possible. Surely you don’t want to nab two in the same class, someone is bound to be unhappy.
You need to bring in one QB per class (ideal). Diamonds in the rough are all over the map. These kids will work their tails off to compete to get on the field. And if they don’t, most of them are content being in the program and trying to make the team better any way they can.
But mark my words- Hundley is the one. I want him.
All I saw was purple
Lindquist is the real deal
barring injury he should be a consensus top 5 QB by this time next year. Pittser has MAC offers right now since he’s a project, but I suggest you check out the Elite 11 show on ESPNU and tell me he can’t be as good as any kid in the country. We can still take somebody that’s a fringe Pac-10 guy like a Tana Pritchard or Brett Smith to fill in some depth next year. With Price and Montana already poised for a pretty heated QB battle next year, I’m really not concerned with our QB situation.
That's what I like to hear!
I also think we are in a great situation. I realize we are little light at QB, yet plan B guys will work their tails off If Hundley isn’t on campus next Spring, we will have a great QB competition between Price and Montana. Bring in two guys that can serve the 2nd and 3rd units well and offer them a job like place holder. We’re a little thin, but we have two guys ready to go next year.
All I saw was purple
The video I've seen is excellent
and he really seems like he has his head screwed on right, which for a QB is a must-have trait.
All this assumes that we don’t get Hundley…
Wittek is a gunslinger...
That’s why he is at glitz and glamour U$C. Plus the pay and benefits are better.
Speed, Need and...
…balance? Is that what the old recruiting moniker used to say?
Washington Husky Football-"Hear the bark, feel the bite!"
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
