Husky WR Coach Aaron Roderick became former Husky WR Coach Aaron Roderick for the second time in a span of two weeks when his wife put her foot down concerning moving to Seattle. Roderick's wife is an assistant soccer coach at Utah and both are natives of the area. It is really tough to get people out of Utah when they have been there all their lives.
So the Huskies continue to search for a new WR coach and the fans favorites are Robin Plufgrad who was just let go by Oregon and James Lofton who has been coaching in the NFL for a number of years.
I have noticed a few people rooting for Lofton but I have to tell you that playing the position and coaching the position are two different things. While Lofton has a big time name he would have to adapt to college all over again and the rigors of recruiting. None of that is a given and I doubt he is on Sarkisian's short list. Don't expect Washington to aprroach the opening with a lot of urgency until recruiting is finished unless Sark had an obvious numer two.
Recruiting
This is the last big week of the recruiting season and Washington only has 14-15 spots full. Sarkisian said he would like to bring in a full class of 25 but at this point I am thinking 18-20 tops which would be fine with me.
JC DT Myles Wade from Portland say he is done and will go to Texas Tech. I think Sarkisian will work him hard this week to get a visit out of him.
JC DT Branden Warner seems to be headed to UCLA according to Brian Dohn of Inside UCLA. This still could end up going Washington's way because of admissions policies.
QB/S Josh Motem will end up choosing between Colorado and Washington. He was listed as a soft recruit to UW but since his Colorado visit it has become virtually a tie between the two schools for his services.
WR James Johnson says that he hasn't made a decision yet and it will be a big surprise when he does. One of the sites reported him as a commit two weekends ago but Dawgman has talked to him twice and he says he is not committed to anyone at this point. Most think UW will be his final choice.
No official word from Hawaii on OT Stan Hasiak and LD Simione Vehekite yet. It seems both are keeping a low profile and even surprised their HS coach when they tripped Washington together.
We did hear that Sarkisian, Holt, and Nansen are going to be in Hawaii this week undoubtedly making final visits with Hasiak, Vehekite, and maybe even a couple of other guys we haven't heard about.
Washington only has four known official visitors coming in this weekend. Word is that number could swell to as many as 12-13 as the weekend gets closer. This isn't an easy year for the recruiting services because they really don't have any idea of who the Washington coaching staff is in on.
Plan B Guys
This the annual weekend where football programs from all over the country who have not finished recruiting bring in their Plan B type guys. Washington has been in Plan B mode for the entire month because of the coaching change. We still have some semi big names on the board but if the staff closes one or two that is likely the best case scenario.
Here are a few examples of Plan B guys who have popped into the picture over the last week for Washington during the past couple of years.
WR D'Andre Goodwin is your superstar in this group. UW was in on quite a few big time receivers in 2006 who went elsewhere and the kid from Antelope Valley popped out of nowhere.
- OT Skyler Fancher
- OT Mark Armelin
- CB Marquise Persley
- WR D'Andre Goodwin
- DT Derek Kosub
- C Matt Sedillo
- OG Morgan Rosborough
- TE Tim Williams
- S Mesphin Forrester
- DT Wilson Afoa
Afoa and Forrester went on to start a lot of football games. Sedillo may start or play quite a bit next season. Armelin and Fancher are solid currently as backups at OT. Persley is a bit buried in the dfensive backfield at this point.
Tim Williams and Derek Kosub quit the squad. Morgan Rosborough has had weight problems and hasn't played much.