If you are Rick Neuheisel coach of the UCLA Bruins their are two words you are really not fond of right now and those two words would be Steve Sarkisian. The Huskies have been all over the UCLA commitment list this past month.
With UW recruiting so late in the game this year they have had no other choice in the late going but to try to poach kids from other conference schools. Historically the Huskies have recruiting basically wrapped up before Christmas. When you are still out there with 5-10 spots to fill in late January you have to be aggressive.
Aggressive is the key word that comes to mind when you think about Sarkisian and his staff. They probably aren't going to accomplish all their goals this recruiting season but the foundation they are laying for 2010 is impressive.
LB Tim Tucker from Narbonne, HS in Harbor City, CA. made a from commitment to Washington this weekend. From what film I have seen Tucker is an excellent recruit who will add some size and hitting ability to the UW linebacker unit.
Dominique Giesie from Mount San Antonio JC in Ontario CA also took the plunge for Washington this weekend. Giesie is a kid they are recruiting to play right away and bring some more experience and cover ability to the CB position.
Rumors that Hawaii LB Simione Vehekite de-committed from USC in favor of Washington this past weekend a rumor. There has been no official confirmation since he arrived back home in Hawaii. Vehekite tripped Washington with his teammate OL Stan Hasiak.
Hasiak has always been very high on Washington's list but he committed to California last weekend after making a soft commit to UCLA earlier in the recruiting season.
UW is still in the game with both Vehikite and Hasiak because of the visits but getting them to commit is going to be a long shot this late in the process. If Sarkisian can reel in those two this late in the game it would be special.
UW also reportedly had a couple of OSU verbals on campus this weekend. OL Joshua Andrews and OL Mana Rosa. Reports say Rosa is still headed to OSU while Andrews has not made a final decision.
S Stanjarivus McKay reportedly committed while on his trip to UW but once he got home and thought about it remained solid to UCLA.
OL Eddie Williams from Mount San Antonio JC was another player who made the trip.No word yet from Williams but he is known to have a slight lean toward UCLA.
DT Myles Wade form Portland, OR verballed to Texas Tech last night after an in home visit from Mike Leach. UW offered him last week and is going to try to get a visit out of him this coming weekend to see if they can turn him around.
Look for recruiting to get really interesting this coming week. Washington is still in on a number of top players and it is really going to be a huge fight between Washington and UCLA on a number of these recruits. This bodes well for the future regardless of the outcome. It shows Washington once again is going after the top players in the West after four years of concentrating in state and going after players the big boys like USC, Cal, Oregon, and UCLA were not in on.
The only way you win a conference championship is to beat USC. You can't beat USC unless you have the horses to compete on your roster. Washington is going after those horses.
Husky Basketball team on top of the Pac 10
The Husky basketball team took another big step toward a tournament berth in March by sweeping UCLA and USC at home this weekend. Washington showed killer instinct in seizing the momentum in both games during the latter stages of the second half.
Washington has a lot of depth and it has been showing late in games when they start wearing teams down. The squad used to flail whenever Jon Brockman left the game but now they look like a team that can win games without him if that is what is needed.
This week Washington finishes the first half of the Pac 10 season by making a trip down the desert to play the Arizona schools. ASU is the best of the two this season and UW will have a very physical matchup with the Sun Devils. Arizona is still reeling from the loss of Lute Olsen.
The Huskies need at least a split on this trip to keep the lead in the Pac 10 going into the seasons second half. With tough road series coming up in the Bay Area and LA during the second half UW a sweep in Arizona would cement the Huskies as the Pac 10 favorites.