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With The Opening getting underway earlier this week, and the action beginning to really heat up later today, the time has come for us here at UW Dawg Pound to release our primer on the event. Today we will focus on going over recruits already committed to the Huskies, as well as those that remain high on the board. In next week's update, we will have more on the targets competing in the event, as well as other targets remaining on the board.
Current Commitments
Hunter Bryant
Hunter Bryant committed to the Huskies over other offers from USC, Auburn, and Oklahoma among several others, and while some recruits are on their second or third commitments, Bryant has shut down his recruitment and is going to be a Husky, no matter what may happen. Bryant is one of the nation's top TE recruits, therefore many teams are going to be calling and trying to get him on campus. "That's definitely the place that I'm going," Bryant told Rivals.com recruiting analyst Woody Wommack earlier this week. ($) Bryant has made the switch from recruit to recruiter, and plans on using The Opening to really get in several top targets' ears.
Connor Wedington
Wedington is an extremely talented running back out of Sumner (WA) and has been committed to the Huskies since right before NSD 2016 in February. Wedington has other reported offers from schools such as Oregon, Utah, and Arizona among others, and recently picked up an offer from Cal. I definitely see him turning out to be a four-star before all is said and done.
Marlon Tuipulotu
Marlon is a big-time get for this defensive staff, and according to Rivals, his two primary recruiters were Coach Malloe and Coach Kwiatkowski. He chose the Huskies over other offers from several "traditional powers" such as Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, and several others. Marlon is another recruit that, with a big week, could see a ratings bump on the various recruiting sites. We will have more on Marlon in our breakdown of the defensive commits, which will be going live later this week.
Targets Competing
Foster Sarrell
Sarrell is the clear top target remaining on the board. If he did commit to the Huskies, he would be arguably the top recruit ever signed by UW. With offers from Stanford, Michigan, Notre Dame, and others, Sarrell has no shortage of options at the next level.
Salvon Ahmed
Ahmed is a four-star ATH, and another in-state recruit, playing at nearby Juanita HS in Kirkland. Ahmed also has offers from Mississippi State, Stanford, and Arizona (notice the trend). He has an extremely impressive highlight tape, and would be a huge get for the Huskies.
Jay Tufele
Tufele, a four-star DT out of Utah, has been rising on the boards of several fellow Pac-12 schools in recent weeks, but has remained a priority for the Huskies for quite some time now. He has other offers from both Arizona schools, Miami, Ole Miss, and UCLA among others.
Darnay Holmes
Holmes is a five-star corner who would also be one of arguably the top recruits ever signed by the Huskies, although at this moment gaining his commitment would come as a surprise. Holmes has other offers from a ton of "big-time" programs such as Stanford, Florida State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and several others.
Addison Gumbs
Gumbs is another very interesting and exciting recruit out of the state of California. Gumbs seems likely to end his recruitment soon, choosing between Washington, USC, and Oklahoma. He is a top-five player at his position, and according to Rivals, a top-sixty recruit nationally. I fully expect Gumbs to announce before his senior season, and I would give the Dawgs about a forty-percent chance of landing him.
Hunter Echols
Echols is a UCLA commit who came very close to committing to UW before committing to the Bruins. Echols is someone I would keep a particularly close eye on going forward, as he has the potential, if flipped, to become another leader in this class, both on the field and off.
Thomas Graham
Like Holmes, Graham is one of the top corners nationally, and is also someone that would be able to make a Budda Baker-esque impact as soon as he stepped on campus. Graham plays for Rancho Cucamonga HS in California, and also has offers from UCLA, USC, and Alabama among others.
Elijah Molden
Molden is another top-flight CB recruit, like Graham and Holmes. From West Linn (OR) HS, Molden is a top target for the in-state Ducks. While I expect the battle for him to come down to Oregon and Stanford, I am not ready to count UW out just yet.
Tomorrow, we will take a look at the current commits on the defensive side of the ball. Monday, a top-twenty remaining targets for the Huskies list will be ready, and then later in the week (Thursday) we will take a very early look at the class of 2018. Enjoy The Opening, and Go Dawgs.