Recruiting Roundup: A Top Target Narrows His List & Other Notes

Happy Sunday Husky fans. There has been a lot of recruiting activity over the last week and that should continue throughout January.

The biggest piece of news over the last week was that 5 star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. narrowed his list of schools to 6. The Huskies made his list and will need fight hard to try and beat schools like Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, and Oregon for his commitment. Conerly just won an award for the top offensive lineman in the country (at the All American Bowl), and there is no question how talented he is. Rated as the 9th best prospect in the 2022, The Huskies would love to add him to their roster. Conerly has stated he will wait until March to make his final decision, which should give Coach Deboer plenty of time to try and win Conerly and his family over. I would expect Conerly to officially visit UW this month at some point.

Several prospects were also offered by the Huskies over the last week. 3 star linebacker Blake Nichelson from Manteca HS, CA was one of the prospects who was offered. Rated as the 30th best linebacker in the 2023 class, Nichelson is a prospect the new Husky coaches have been recruiting for a while. Nichelson holds offers from Oregon State, Arizona, Boston College, and Fresno State. Last season he had 52 tackles and 11 sacks and it sounds like UW is recruiting him as an inside linebacker. Nichelson is a prospect to keep tabs on as a Husky fan.

The Huskies also extended an offer to a recent entry into the transfer portal. Running back Aaron Dumas who just finished his freshman season at New Mexico was offered by the Husky staff. Last season he rushed for 658 yards on 136 carries (4.8 yards a rush) and 2 touchdowns. I would assume that there is some attrition coming to the running back room, which is why the Huskies are after another running back, and Dumas looks like an excellent back (similar to Myles Gaskin in his skill set- able to find holes and positive gains, but not great breakaway speed). I would assume Dumas will probably visit some schools who have offered him in January and try and land somewhere this spring.

The Huskies also extended an offer to Hunter Clegg from American Fork HS, UT. Rated as the 165th best player in the 2023 class and 19th best edge prospect, Clegg already holds offers from Stanford, USC, and Utah. Listed at 6’4” and around 235 pounds he’s got good size to play on the edge and it looks like the Huskies are going to prioritize him in the 2023 class.

As a reminder the Huskies should start to host some 2022 prospects over the next couple of weeks, and will host a junior day on the 29th of January. I would expect a lot of 2023 prospects will make their way up to Seattle and when we find out who will be up here I will make sure to let you guys know. As always follow me @asieverkropp.