Recruiting Roundup: What Does The Coach Pete News Mean For The 2020 Class & Other Notes

I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the recruiting effect of the shocking news on Monday that Coach Pete would be stepping down as the head football coach at UW and hand the reins over to Coach Lake.

With 2 weeks to go until the early signing period and 21 known commits in the 2020 class it seemed like things were on auto pilot for the 2020 recruiting class leading up to signing day, however the news on Monday did cause some recruits to push for a second and rethink their commitment to UW. Among those it sounded like 4 star wideout Jalen McMillan from San Joaquin HS, CA and 4 star quarterback Ethan Garbers from Corona Del Mar, HS, CA were 2 players who were hit the hardest by the news. Notre Dame, who was the runner up for McMillan’s commitment actually visited with him at his school, however it sounds like McMillan was reassured by Coach Pete himself and Coach Lake that the program would basically remain the same. After that call it sounds like McMillan reaffirmed his commitment.

Garbers on the other hand is taking a wait and see attitude with his UW commitment. Garbers, it sounds like, wants to know what changes will be made to the offense before he re-solidifies his commitment. It will be very important for Coach Lake to get Garbers to join the program, not only because he is a good football player but also because Jacob Eason may decide to leave early which would leave UW with only 2 scholarship QB’s left on the roster. Garbers’ teammate and good friend, 3 star tight end Mark Redman, is already committed to UW and said he plans to sign, and in the end I think Garbers will sign with UW either on the 18th of December or the first weekend of February.

Jimmy Lake has been pounding the pavement and doing several in home visits with current Husky commits (these visits don’t count as a head coach visit, since he isn’t the head coach technically until January). Here are some of the visits he has done, which include visits to 5 star Sav’ell Smalls, and 4 star offensive lineman Myles Muaro:

With 21 commitments and the 16th rated class in the country (composite rated), the Huskies will host a couple of official visitors next weekend who are uncommitted:

4 star tight end Jack Yary from Murrieta Valley HS, CA is set to see Montlake after de-committing from USC a few weeks ago. UW really wants to get another tight end in the 2020 class with the news that Hunter Bryant is declaring for the NFL draft. Listed at 6’6” and around 250 pounds Yary is rated by 247sports as the 9th best tight end in the country, and when you watch his film you can see how good of a pass catcher he could be in the Huskies offense.

4 star defensive lineman Xavier Carlton from Juan Diego HS, UT is also set to finally visit UW next weekend. Listed at 6’7” and around 260 pounds Carlton is rated by 247sports as the 14th best defensive end in the country. UW would like to add another defensive lineman in their 2020 class, however they will have to battle Utah who is widely regarded as the favorite for Carlton. Carlton has a similar frame to current Husky Levi Onwuzurike and the Huskies would probably use him in the same way. If the Huskies are able to land Carlton they would be able to add another versatile piece on their defensive line.

It does sound like all of the commits (save for Garbers) plan on signing on the 18th which would be a huge relief for Husky fans and new head Coach Jimmy Lake and allow him to focus his recruiting energy on closing out the 2020 class (i.e. land 4 star cornerback Jacobe Covington from Saguaro HS, AZ).

That is all for now and if any new visitors end up coming to campus next weekend I will put another article up. As always follow me @asieverkropp.