Recruiting update for 1/31
by kirkd on Jan 31, 2012 12:29 PM PST
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PrintWell, yesterday was a wild swing of emotions wasn't it? Definitely stings to have not gotten a high-level, legacy, in-state recruit at not only a position of great importance in general (LT), but also of great need for the Huskies. But the flip side is we also landed what most analysts consider the best Safety prospect in the country (one Scout.com analyst pegs him as an all-decade talent) and among the best prospects this year period. Such is the agony and ecstasy of big-boy recruiting - get used to it Dawg fans; Sark hunts big-game, and with guys like Lupoi, Sirmon & Wilcox on board joining Nansen & Thomas, he looks like he has the weapons to close on some elite talent.
Here's where we currently stand with uncommitted prospects that still appear to be considering the UW:
RB/WR/CB Kenny Walker: Hasn't made an official announcement yet, but all signs still point to him flipping from Cal to UW
WR Jordan Payton: Set to announce today at 1:30, widely expected to pick the UW
C/G Shane Brostek: As always, the family has kept his recruitment tightly under wraps; Duck fans feel confident, and so do Dawg fans; I still feel really good about our chances, but he's a really important piece given that we only have 3 OL commits right now
DE Dylan Cozens: He maintains he hasn't decided yet and all three of UW, Arizona and Boise St. are still in the mix; the pitch by Arizona to also let him play baseball, plus the home-state edge probably tips the scales towards the Wildcats
WR Jaydon Mickens: Too close to call; seemed like an Oklahoma St. lock after his visit there, but since then the appeal of staying on the West Coast has brought the UW back close to even; set to announce tonight at 7:30
DT/DE Pio Vatuvei: Still appears to be a close race between USC & UW, and it may not just be about whether he has a firm or conditional offer from USC - he really likes the UW staff; sounds like he'll be a Signing Day decision
QB Cyler Miles: As noted yesterday, he told Scout.com he's solid with the UW; it'd be a major shock if he pulled a Signing Day flip to USC
CB Randall Goforth: Still seems to be a strong ASU lean
CB Brandon Beaver: No change, I still think he's highly likely to be a Dawg
CB Cleveland Wallace: Haven't heard any updates; probably still leaning Oregon St., but UW has a chance to flip him
DE Alonzo Williams: Re-affirmed his commitment to Texas A&M yesterday
S Devian Shelton: Very likely sticking with his Oregon St. commitment
WR Michael Rector: Battle of sources on this one, but most feel he's flipped to Stanford
We also can't rule out the possibility of a few guys coming into the picture out of left field at the last minute - there's always a lot of late scrambling. Sark might have some plan B guys he offers today or tomorrow, and there might be a major surprise or two in the making. That USC has a hard limit on scholarships this year means there could be more last-minute scrambling than usual.
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You know what? The way that this class is shaping up makes me even more excited than I alredy was.
Hot dang
yeah, it will be really interesting to take a step back after Wednesday and analyze this class
It’s always going to sting a great deal that we couldn’t land Banner, Garnett & Williams, that we couldn’t convince Dozier that DB was his best spot and that Russell decided not just to go to Notre Dame, but to burn every bridge with Husky fans from Seattle to South Bend.
That said, there’s a lot to really like about this class, especially if we close as I expect we will with Payton, Mickens, Beaver and perhaps Vatuvei.
According to Garnett himself, UW did nothing wrong with his recruitment.
This year was just bad luck more than anything.
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 12:52 PM PST up reply actions
that's true
That said, I’m not removing some blame from the UW staff. Had they been better salesmen, not only would Josh have thought they did nothing wrong in their recruitment of him, he’d have thought they did everything right and convinced him the UW was the best place for him.
But it is nice to know that there didn’t appear to be any major blunders in his view. Which is unlike what happened with Steve Schilling…
I agree that the coaching staff bears some responsibility.
But in the case of Garnett, he wanted to play at a school that was already annual BCS contenders, rather than a school that was “on their way”. UW couldn’t sell somethig that they couldn’t deliver on at this point in time.
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 12:59 PM PST up reply actions
I guess we'll differ on this point
It’s still salesmanship. I think there was room to really convince Josh that he was a key component in putting the UW over the top from bowl team to National Championship contender, and to convince him that Stanford will be coming back to the pack post-Harbaugh and post-Luck.
stanford
if they do manage to snake jamias winston from florida state they might not be coming down anytime soon the kids a pretty dang good qb.
Winston won't play right away
Really doubt the kid would jump the guys already on the roster as a true frosh.
I still think this is going to be the reality...
at least I “want” to believe that scenario…
I'm just going off of what Garnett himself said.
I don’t really disagree with you. However, it would be kind pointless to debate this further since the coaches responsible for the South Sound region were not retained.
However, Stanford had a great recruiting class last year and they have a pretty good one this year, even without Garnett, so I’m pretty sure the Stanford coaches pointed that out, so it looks like they could stand a good chance of maintaining their success. Also, he’s getting a degree from Stanford.
So overall, even though the coaches are gone, I don’t think his choice of Stanford was a reflection of the coaching staff as much as it was just bad luck.
With top-end recruiters, I am confident that UW will be signing top-end talent, including in-state, that they target with more regularity.
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 1:28 PM PST up reply actions
I definitely agree with this part
With top-end recruiters, I am confident that UW will be signing top-end talent, including in-state, that they target with more regularity.
I expect this to be true – we’re already seeing the impact they can have.
Garnett
He also wanted to go a school with better academics…I think he wants to become a molecular biologist.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Feb 1, 2012 7:09 PM PST up reply actions
I thought he wanted to pursue medicine?
Which is one of reasons I thought the whole “Stanford” thing was overblown.
I don't know if UW offers anything more geared for molecular biology for undergrads.
But I believe they do for graduate programs.
If they don’t have any undergraduate programs geared more for that, I think that reinforces my opinion that UW couldn’t sell something that they couldn’t deliver.
by Carl Shinyama on Feb 2, 2012 1:05 AM PST up reply actions
Err uhh
If they did something right he would have been a Husky…trust me on that.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Jan 31, 2012 1:44 PM PST up reply actions
John, I apologize.
That’s not good enough. You’re directly contradicting what Garnett himsel said.
It would take something a lot more concrete than that for me to trust what you’re telling me. If you have soething that you can share, I might be inclined to to trust your judgement of the situation. With that said, I’m inclined to beleive that it was bad luck more than anything.
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 1:50 PM PST up reply actions
You’re directly contradicting what Garnett himsel said.
Sure. But “not doing anything wrong” isn’t the same as doing something right.
The coaching staff’s job was to convince Garnett that what he really wanted was to be part of the foundation of a program on the cusp of being great. They failed in that regard. And in large part, that was simply due to a lack of real effort.
Lack of real effort?
Sounds awfully presumptuous.
It’s a fair point to differentiate between doing nothing wrong and doing something right,but let’s be mindful of the fact that is not necesaarily the case here. We can’t say definitively that the coaching staff wasn’t doing it right. The outcome is not an accurate metric of effort or having done something right.
Even luck, good or bad, occurs in recruiting.
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 3:00 PM PST up reply actions
Correct politics
Give the kid some credit.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Jan 31, 2012 4:40 PM PST up reply actions
not meant as a slight
but judging by video, I would prefer Mickens over Russell. I wanted Russell because of the local connection, but his video isn’t overly impressive.
I agree...
think they have similarities but Mickens being more of a reciever threat and Russell probably too slight for RB short of 20+ more lbs? It will be interesting to see how they develop in time? Both can burn it up though…
I wanted Russell
Very talented offensive skill position player. Probably more of a hybrid kind of guy, splitting between RB and slot WR, but there’s a place for that kind of player (see: De’Anthony Thomas)
Devian Shelton
just received a last minute off from USC, who according to Biggins, is his dream school. I’m still holding out hope. A defensive backfield containing Shaq and Shelton would be down right scary
yeah, that was interesting
Tells me Kiffin got word he’s missing out on a guy he really wanted. The musical chairs of his hard limit of 15 new scholarship offers (not counting the early enrollees they’re getting that can count back to the 2011 class) means he’s going to be working the phones hard from now all the way through tomorrow night, and perhaps beyond.
Interesting Situation
Kiffin seems to be taking it in stride and doing a great job though.
by the way...
…I’ll be attending the Signing Day Ceremony at Hec Ed tomorrow night and provide any interesting tidbits I hear there. It will also be my first chance to see and hear the new defensive staff – really looking forward to getting an impression of what those guys are like.
by kirkd on Jan 31, 2012 12:53 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
I think the UW Dawg Pound . . .
should pay to send some of the authors and editors to any and all such UW football events! Then we should try and get press credentials for the games too!!
Yes, I know, delusions of grandeur . . . .
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
That's pretty good idea.
If this possible, I’ll help however I can
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 1:53 PM PST up reply actions
Thanks Kirk
great job on the updates and predictions. Just wondering what happened to CB Marsh? Are we no longer offering?
hard to know for sure
Seemed like UW dropped Marsh a while back – and at the time there was some worry it would affect Beaver – but recent comments from Marsh make it seem like UW is still one of his top three.
Rector
I’m pretty positive he flipped. Don’t expect his LOI.
Rector
You pick Stanford for academics…no prob with me.
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Jan 31, 2012 6:11 PM PST up reply actions
Confirmation????
I will no longer celebrate anything until I know for sure it is official.
Then you just have until tomorrow to wait
If you want it completely official
by Carl Shinyama on Jan 31, 2012 1:42 PM PST up reply actions
Or . . .
you’re just happy we have a few more 4 and 5 star recruits. Either way, you are happy, and we are happy!
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
Don't we need to have a "staff" party . . .
I vote we hold it in Las Vegas!
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
Gladly.
As long as John pays for the jet fuel.
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
From Seattle . . . .
I’m guessing about 15K
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
That is to charter the plane
Fuel would be about 1000 gals at about $4 per gallon.
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
That is round trip.
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
I'd be willing to do the fuel.
How many people does it carry?
by hairofthedawg on Jan 31, 2012 2:27 PM PST up reply actions
Legallly, 2 pilots and 8 passengers, but anything over 6 passengers gets to be a tight squeeze. Obviously, I’ll sit up front with one of my coworkers (a Husky fan), which leaves 6 open spots in the back.
"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
"Legends are made on the shores of Lake Washington"
So we'd have to get our own beers...
I can handle that. There is room for a cooler, right? ;)
by hairofthedawg on Jan 31, 2012 3:22 PM PST up reply actions
If we want to charter a Delta 757...
I can get you there. It might cost a bit more, but it will hold the Dawg Pound staff and “friends”.
"The same thing that will make you laugh will make you cry." Ray Lewis
by Carne Guisada on Jan 31, 2012 2:11 PM PST up reply actions
I need a big year
UW Dawg Pound - SBN Seattle
by John Berkowitz on Jan 31, 2012 4:41 PM PST up reply actions
Brostek is in!
Welcome to the Dawgs!!!!
by CanisInvictus on Jan 31, 2012 4:58 PM PST via Android app reply actions
So..
Of the names that are one this list, Beaver and Vatuvei are the remaining recruits we can reasonably expect UW to land, provided that certain contingencies allow for that to be true, of course.
Sounds right
Beaver and Vatuvei appear to be strongly leaning to UW. Them and 1 more suprise and class could be done.
Kenny Walker’s dad is claiming his son will sign with UCLA, as per Greg Biggins tweat a little while ago.
by Regent Denali on Jan 31, 2012 9:18 PM PST up reply actions
Vatuvei is going to USC
unless they fill up with guys higher on their board tomorrow. They have 3 spots left, but they’re not in on a ton of top rated guys. Shelton, Agholor and Rogers are the only guys that I see committing there. That might be our only hope as it puts them at 16.
that's my read too
If USC has room to offer Sheton at the last minute, then I doubt Vatuvei has a conditional offer at this point. Unless he really really likes the Dawgs regardless, seems prudent to assume he’s USC-bound.
whoops, you're right
Confusing the two Oregon St DB commits that are considering the Huskies. Wallace is the one considered a greater possibility to flip to us.
I don't think either will
but I like Shelton better. He’s just a monster, and I’ve always been a fan of big corners.
I been telling you guys no need to panic
In Sark we trust! Or, I bark for Sark! I love that guy. Welcome to the Dawgs recruits!
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