Rivals/UDub is reporting that Orange, (Cali) Lutheran High School standout Garret Gilliland pulled the trigger and committed to the University of Washington over offers from Colorado, Duke, Fresno State and Washington State. Gilliland becomes the 24th pledge for Washington in what is becoming a powerhouse 2010 recruiting class.
Not exactly sure if it is accurate yet because Dawgman and Condotta have not weighed in yet but not much of a reason to think it isn't either since Gilliland has been pretty high on the Huskies for quite some time. The Husky coaches have been out on the road since Monday night all over the West so there is usually some verbal activity when they are out on the road in force.
Expect more verbal activity after the WSU game. Washington might actually be able to pretty much fill up the rest of the class based on the type of talent that will be visiting that weekend. The Huskies probably have around six or so spots left to fill in this class.
This will go down as one of the most interesting classes in Husky football history and not only because of the size and quality. The coaches will over sign this year because of the fear of late defections and a couple of kids who may be borderline qualifiers. Look for Sarkisian to be more like Romar than Willingham for example. He will push the envelope and make the numbers work.
Everyone keep in mind that Washington has two kids...Callier and Cooper who are going to enroll in time for Spring who won't count against the 2010 class. They also will try to bring in 2-3 JC's who also won't count against the current class.
We look for Washington to sign at least 27 HS players at this point and three JC's. The numbers can always bump up a bit depending on who they expect to qualify, who they think is questionable to followthrough onthe verbal, or who is a candidate to gray shirt.
The coaches know they need some different players. they know they need them now. They know they have to execute a purge. Most importantly they know the clock is ticking because they didn't qualify for a bowl game this season. It doesn't matter if you are the likeable Steve Sarkisian or the unlikeable Tyrone Willingham. When you don't go bowling the heads go rolling. It is just a matter of time. As my friend AAndy over at Dawgman says...tick, tick, tick .. .
I always harken back to Tom Holmoe at Cal who was fired before the year Tedford turned it all around and was declared a genius. Truth is Holmoe recruited his ass off and had kicked UW out of the Bay Area but he didn't have the time to complete the deal. Holmoe had some really good recruiting classes. I have always said that if he had one more year he still might be the coach at Cal....tick, tick, tick... .
So anyway to make a long story short it looks like Coach Holt is rebuilding his linebacker unit. Look for some attrition of upper classmen from this unit in the off season.