Recruiting Roundup: Husky Coaches Are Out on the Road, and Other Notes

Husky Coaches have had a jam-packed month of April focusing on and running Spring practice. Now that Spring practice is behind us, the coaches can get on the road for the May evaluation period. During this period the coaches are allowed to visit each school twice to check on a prospect’s transcripts and also see a spring practice. UW coaches will be on the road for the majority of May. In June they will be busy hosting recruits at some of their camps, including the Rising Stars camp. Here is a look at where the Husky coaches are heading in the coming days:

Recently the Husky coaches offered a scholarship and hosted, on an unofficial visit, 3-star defensive end Jake Shipley from Shadow Hills HS, CA. Shipley, who is listed at 6’4” and around 250 pounds, is a prototypical defensive end who can probably get his weight up to 260-270 and be a Jaylen Johnson-type of player. UW offered Shipley after his visit. Shipley recently named his top five: UW, Oregon, UCLA, ASU, and Cal. UW would love to add Shipley to their 2020 class and they are pushing hard to get him in the boat. Here is some film of Shipley:

Lastly, many Husky fans including myself were disheartened to hear that 5-star linebacker Sav’ell Smalls from Kennedy Catholic HS, WA eliminated UW from consideration. After a few days of thinking about it, I do think UW will be fine without him, but it was a little bit of a gut punch to Husky fans. Coach Pete is always up front with recruits about their program and what OKG means; unfortunately, those close to Smalls have been in his ear about what they think OKG means (not what Coach Pete really means by the phrase). If Smalls doesn’t want to be a part of the program and buy into the OKG theme, then I think it is probably best that UW moves on from him.

If I know anything about Coach Pete it is that he won’t sacrifice the integrity and foundation of the program for one recruit. Coach Pete has built a culture based on OKGs, and if he thinks someone isn’t an OKG they will pass on recruiting that player. UW will be okay without Smalls, and they are still in on some other big-time linebackers including 4-star Nick Herbig from Saint Louis HS, HI and 4-star linebacker Jordan Banks from Narbonne HS, CA. Both players are expected to visit UW again, and the Huskies are looking good for both players.

That is all for now and as always follow me @asieverkropp.