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Washington Football Recruiting Dots: 1/21

Wrapping up the latest news in Husky football recruiting, including an announcement date for stud in-state DL Benning Potoa'e.

By Kirk DeGrasse
RB Chris Warren is still scheduled to visit Washington the weekend of 1/30
RB Chris Warren is still scheduled to visit Washington the weekend of 1/30
Student Sports

With the first official visit weekend of the new year in the books, let's take a look at where things currently stand with Washington football recruiting:

  • DL Ricky McCoy took his first visit to Seattle this past weekend despite committing to the Huskies last month, and he loved it:

    He was also hard at work to convince fellow DL recruit Benning Potoa'e to join him as a commit:

  • Speaking of Potoa'e, the top-ranked uncommitted player in the state has had a busy week. After he returned from his official visit to Washington this past weekend he hosted UCLA coach Jim Mora for an in-home visit and has had Oregon coaches desperately trying to get him to take an official visit to Eugene. That appears to be for naught, as he's planning to announce his decision tomorrow at his high school at 2:15PM:

    What makes this news even more intriguing is this tidbit:

    While you can never say never, it would seem highly unlikely for Potoa'e to announce at his high school and then host Petersen afterwards if he were going to pick UCLA.  Scout.com's west coast recruiting experts Brandon Huffman and Greg Biggins apparently agree, both predicting Potoa'e to Washington.

  • The other uncommitted visitor this past weekend was DL Mika Tafua out of Honolulu, HI. A long-time commit to Brigham Young, he opened up his recruiting process this past summer and has now visited Oregon, USC, Colorado and Washington. He's scheduled to visit BYU this coming weekend. Word is he had a great trip to Seattle and is seriously considering the Huskies, but the Cougars are lined up to get the last visit and possibly bring him back into the fold. He's expected to take his LDS mission right away, so he likely will end up effectively being a 2017 recruit.

  • Among the committed visitors was OL Trey Adams. Looks like some creative folks at the UW had a little fun with Adams and his hair:

  • Also on the trip was WR Andre Baccellia who got to pose with the new P.A.C.K. flag:

  • Another important recruiting weekend is on tap, and it's good news for Washington fans as 4-star DB DeChaun Holiday is scheduled to visit:

    While Holiday is still widely viewed as a strong UCLA lean, the Huskies are still in the race and getting him up for an official visit gives them a shot to sway him to Washington.

  • Also slated to visit this upcoming weekend is late-rising prospect Bryce Sterk from Lynden, WA:

    Washington coaches have been tracking him all year, and finally offered him this past week.  Not coincidentally other schools have scrambled to come after Sterk in the wake of that offer, including Oregon.

  • The other really big fish out there is Rockwall, TX RB Chris Warren. He's scheduled to visit Washington on the last weekend before signing day, and Chris Petersen, Brent Pease and Keith Bhonapha were in his house last night:

    Texas is going to be very tough to beat - looking at things objectively, under Charlie Strong they offer much of the same positives that the Huskies do under Petersen, and he'd be able to stay much closer to home.  As long as the Huskies still get his last visit they have a chance, but I would consider the Longhorns the odds-on favorites.

  • OL target James Empey out of American Fork, UT took his official visit to Utah this past weekend and has scheduled a visit with Oregon State this coming weekend:

    Most feel he's a strong lean to Utah at this point.  Like Tafua, he's expected to take his LDS mission right away and essentially become a 2017 recruit.

  • Another big-time target is WR Jaylinn Hawkins out of Buena Park, CA. He just completed his latest and last official visit to Boise State and is set to make his decision on signing day between Washington, Arizona State, Utah, Cal and Boise State. While he's been very careful not to tip his hand in interviews, the feeling is that ASU is where he'll end up.

  • Continuing with WR targets for the Huskies is A.D. (Adrian) Miller out of Dallas, TX. He committed to Illinois back in July, but the Husky coaches have stayed in contact with him. After de-committing from the Illini this past week he's become a hot target again, and the Husky coaches are vying with several other programs to get his last visit before signing day.

  • UW coaches aren't just putting the finishing touches on the 2015 class - they're also hard at work on the 2016 class and beyond. While the Huskies would still love to flip Jacob Eason from his commitment to Georgia, they appear to be pursuing alternatives:

    They have also made an early impression on top SoCal WR prospect Tyler Vaughns:

    USC is widely considered an early leader for Vaughns, but the Huskies are making an impression and have inserted themselves into the mix.

As always, we'll keep you posted on any breaking news, and check back tomorrow afternoon to what should hopefully be good news regarding Potoa'e.

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