Washington had its annual Rising Stars Football Camp this weekend. Expect a couple of commits between now and the fourth of July before everything starts going silent again before camps convene in early August.
The Huskies picked up a verbal from Korey Durkee who is a kicker from Gig Harbor. Durkee can boom the ball with excellent hang time as a punter and has great range as a placekicker. He will fill a big void in 2012 since UW will be graduating both its punter and its kicker. Durkee immediately committed after receiving an offer from the coaches.
QB Jason Thompson from Kennedy HS was reportedly offered by Washington over the weekend. Thompson is the brother of Husky DL Everrette Thompson. The coaches obviously like the bloodlines and attitude. Jason is being recruited as an athlete and will likely end up on the defensive side of the ball. He is around 6'3 210 and plays safety in HS. I imagine he could end up being either a safety or a LB in college.
DL Kory Rasmussen from Kamehameha JS in Hawaii attended the camp for two days which is a pretty good sign. Kory has the classic NT build and UW could really use one or two of those type in this recruiting class since Ta'amu will be moving on in 2012.
OL Cory English from Auburn HS picked up an offer this weekend even though he wasn't at camp. He has not committed as of today. We expected an offer to one of the fringe guys after this camp even though it is pretty hard to call English a fringe guy in any recruiting season but this one. Most expect English to commit once the offer has had a chance to sink in with him and his family. He is a very good friend of 2011 recruit Danny Shelton.
TE Caleb Smith didn't participate in the camp but was on the sidelines. The Washington coaching staff loves him and hopefully that love will be returned by Smith in November.
The next shoe to drop at USC
I am hearing rumors that the other shoe is about to drop at USC. That other shoe would be the suspension of head coach Lane Kiffin and assistant coach Ed Orgeron for recruiting violations committed during their tumultuous one year stay at Tennessee. I have been told that it could be for as many as six games which would effectively deep six Kiffin's career at USC. Keep in mind that he never was and will never be Pat Haden's type of guy. So if Kiffin was pushed out who would be the likely replacement? Sark would have to be on the short list along with Jack Del Rio and Jeff Fisher.
Black Mamba
Ever wonder how DeAnthony Thomas ended up at Oregon? UO with the help of NIKE reportedly blew him away with the design of a new shoe called the "Black Mamba". Could the pitch have been play in Eugene for 3-4 years and have a nice shoe contract waiting for you once you move on to the NFL. What kid doesn't dream of having his own version of an "Air Jordan"?
Korey Durkee YouTube