Jake Heaps is a BYU Cougar and every Husky has an opinion about it. I think most of us wish him all the best except when he plays against Washington. The kid has some tools and I expect him to do very well at BYU.
Steve Sarkisian isn't exactly out of options either. Nick Montana is making an unofficial visit this weekend and if things go well he said Washington could jump to the top of his list. Jesse Scroggins who some rate higher than Heaps also has UW in his current top five. If Sarkisian lands either one of them he has accomplished his goal of bringing in a top rated signal caller.
In the short term there will be some ripples across the state because losing Heaps is a blow to the ego. You hate to lose one of the top rated in state HS players of this decade. The loss of Heaps will make a few of the in state guys now in the fold to look around a little bit more.
I think it is pretty easy for some to blame it all on Willingham. Tyrone wasn't the first to offer even though his son was on the same football team as Heaps. BYU talked to Jake every week for three years while Washington really didn't get active until last fall when former Skyline head coach Steve Gervais arrived on the scene.
You can say that Tyrone wasn't very agressive which is true but what sealed the deal was an 0-12 football team that really doesn't have a lot of current talent. In the end Jake felt his future was more secure playing for a winning and established program. I think the religous and cultural ties were just a bonus.
I really think the deciding factor for the class of 2010 is going to be the on the field performance in 2009. Washington needs to win some games they aren't supposed to this year. That shouldn't be too difficult because Idaho and WSU are the only teams they will be favored over going in. UW is off to a great start with this recruiting class despite the loss of Heaps but if they want to bring in a class for the ages they need to start winning some games.