Washington has had such a hot spring when it comes to recruiting that yesterday's news that the program had whiffed on a couple of top notch prospects created a temporary let down for the fan base. Nobody bats 1000 percent for very long and there will always be disappointment to go along with euphoria out on the recruiting trail.
Cody Kessler had always dreamed of being a USC Trojan so when the call came from Lane Kiffin with an offer a couple of weeks ago he found it hard to turn down the Trojans even though they already have a top QB recruit in the bag for this years class. You have to admire the kid for following his dream rather being concerned about the pre-ordained pecking order that HS QB's usually fall into each year.
So where does UW go next?
With a noted QB guru like Steve Sarkisian as head coach we have few real worries. Arizona's Brett Hundley who has been UW's #1 target all along is still out there along with more than a handful of quality prospects from California.
California QB's Michael Eubank, Shane Blood, Mike Bercovici, Nick Sherry and Klayton Miller are still available and we could see one or all of those guys in Seattle later this month when Washington holds its annual "Rising Stars" camp. Brett Smith, Trey Wheeler, and Tana Pritchard represent the best in the Northwest and all three are in contention to receive an offer from Washington if they come to Montlake to audition and end up doing well.
I am not sure if the recruiting is actually over for either Wittek or Kessler at this point since NCAA sanctions have not been announced yet. USC coaches and Admin keep telling everyone not to worry because if anything happens it will be barely noticeable. That isn't what I am hearing from some pretty credible sources. Dan Wetzel among others from Yahoo says USC is going to get hammered on Friday.
We ran a poll a few days ago on the blog and most of you think USC will only end up getting their hands slapped and that jibes what with Ted Miller of ESPN is saying. I tend to think that USC will get a set of penalties similar to what Alabama received and the sanctions will end by the 2012 season which will be convenient timing for a conference looking for a new TV contract.
Big 12 Rumblings
It may be a little early but the future of the Big 12 could be decided as early as this week since the leagues presidents are having their annual meeting. Nebraska and Missouri have both been backing off a bit since the rumor was floated last month that they were leaving for the Big Ten.
While Missouri and Nebraska are the two schools creating the most buzz, the possibility of Colorado defecting to the Pac-10 has also been mentioned. But the feeling is that that would only happen if the Big 12 lost some of its high-profile members.
“When there’s so much uncertainty out there, you have to begin to think about what that means for potential challenges down the road,” Buffaloes athletic director Mike Bohn said. “It will be great having the presidents and chancellors with us tomorrow.”
Take this story from a writer over at Rivals with a big grain of salt because I'm not too sure that the Pac 10 would have interest in the Oklahoma schools. As we have been saying for the past few months a 16 team Pac 10 would make way more sense than than a 12 team alignment.
It appears the Pac-10, which has its meetings in San Francisco starting this weekend, is prepared to make a bold move and invite Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado to join its league, according to multiple sources close to the situation.
Update: Looking more and more like this story has some legs as of this evening. Not exactly sure on the composition of schools involved but it really doesn't matter since Texas is the lynch pin to the entire deal..
Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said he and other school officials have been led to believe the Pac-10 Conference is on the verge of issuing invitations to six members of the Big 12 to join its ranks.
Once again take this with a big grain of salt because Mike Bohn is sort of a wing nut. That being said it is obvious that Colorado wants to make a move West and they cant do it without Texas.
Bohn said CU has not had any contact with the Pac-10 or its representatives and he was not clear on how he came to believe invitations could be forthcoming. But he said Colorado, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech could receive invitations possibly as soon as this weekend when Pac-10 officials meet in San Francisco. "The longer that we were together in Kansas City it appeared that that rumor or speculation did have some validity to it," Bohn said in an interview with the Camera as he left the Big 12 spring meetings here today.
Daily Camera
Boise State moving to the MWC?
Should be a done deal by the end of the weekend.
Hopkins chooses Stanford
DE/TE prospect Charlie Hopkins from Gonzaga Prep committed to Stanford this week. Hopkins is one of the top five recruits inside the state so losing him hurts a bit but Washington has recruited the position well over the last two seasons. We hate to lose in state targets but Stanford is a tough school to turn down at the moment since they are playing at a high level, have a popular head coach, and don't forget the value of a Stanford degree.