Recruiting Roundup: Taking A Look At The Busy Weekend Of Official Visitors

Happy Sunday husky fans. Yesterday was a busy recruiting day with 2 commits, and today sounds like it will be just as busy (if not more) with official visits wrapping up. The Husky staff hosted 10 official visitors this weekend and here is a look at who made their way to Montlake:

4-star defensive lineman Jericho Johnson from Armijo HS, CA is the headliner recruit in town this weekend. Rated as the 110th best player and 17th best defensive lineman in the country, Johnson holds offers from around the country including Alabama, Miami, Georgia, USC, and Oregon. The Huskies are after Johnson pretty heavily and they would love to add him to their defensive line room (they will be losing at least 2 defensive lineman after this season- MJ Ale, and Tuli L). When you watch him play you can see how disruptive Johnson is on the defensive line, and Johnson would be a massive coup if the Huskies could add him to their class.

4-star (composite) defensive back Payton Waters from Birmingham HS, CA also made his way up to campus this weekend (after previously visiting Northwestern, Stanford, Utah, and UCLA). The Huskies are recruiting Waters as a defensive back, but he has the versatility to play on offense if needed. Listed at 6’2” and around 170 pounds, Waters is one of the top athletes in California and 247sports has him rated as the 45th best player in California. The Huskies will be looking to add 2-3 safeties in the 2024 class and a couple of cornerbacks (Waters could play both spots).

3-star linebacker Khmori House from St John Bosco HS, CA is another recruit the Husky staff has been after for a while. Listed at 6’1” and around 205 pounds, House is a speedy linebacker that can roam from sideline to sideline and make plays everywhere. The Husky staff are battling Auburn and Texas for his commitment, and with the last visit (along with his former teammate Deven Bryant on the roster) I like the Huskies chances. House is rated as the 66nd best linebacker in the class (a ranking that is likely to improve as his senior season gets underway).

3-star tight end Decker DeGraaf from Glendora HS, CA is another California player that headed north to check out Montlake. Rated as the 31st best tight end in the country, Degraaf has been the primary tight end target for the Husky staff for a while and would be a great pickup. Listed at 6’4” and around 230 pounds, DeGraaf is a smooth tight end that is a blue collar type tight end that would fit the Husky offense very well. The Huskies are battling Arkansas, Michigan State, and Utah for his commitment.

3-star linebacker Ashtin Kekahuna-Lopes from St John Bosco HS, CA joined his teammate Khmori House on Montlake this weekend (he recently just transferred to Bosco). Rated as the 122nd best linebacker in the country, Kekahuna-Lopes has seen his recruitment take off the last couple of months (after coaching staffs got to see him in person). The Husky staff is looking to add at least 2 linebackers to the 2024 class and both Bosco linebackers fit what the Huskies are looking for- good athletes that can run sideline to sideline. The Huskies are battling Utah, Oregon State, and Boston College for his commitment.

3-star offensive tackle Ikinasio Tupou from Palo Alto HS, CA ventured up north this weekend to checkout one of the teams recruiting him the hardest. Rated as the 62nd best offensive tackle in the country, Tupou holds offers from Arizona, BYU, Utah, ASU, and Cal. Listed at 6’6” and around 290 pounds, Tupou has a prototypical tackle frame to grow into and offensive line coach Scott Huff would love to add Tupou to the roster and mold him into a future starter along the line.

3-star defensive lineman Omar Khan from Bridgeland HS, TX was the lone non-California recruit on campus (for the weekend group of visitors). Rated by 247sports as the 144th best defensive lineman in the country, the Huskies were one of the first offers for Khan. USC, Baylor, TCU, Cal, and Arizona have also offered Khan. When you watch his film you can see how good Khan can move for his size (he chases a lot of plays down). Getting him on campus will likely help the Huskies chances of landing Khan.

3-star defensive end Ratumana Bulabalavu from Army & Navy Academy HS, CA is an intriguing edge prospect who was able to visit UW this weekend. Rated as the 73rd best defensive lineman by 247sports, Bulabalavu accounted for 22.5 half sacks last season while rushing the passer. Listed at 6’4” and around 260 pounds, Bulabalavu holds offers from most of the Pac12 right now. The Huskies have been after him for a while and appear to hold the inside track in landing his commitment.

3-star quarterback Dermaricus Davis from Etiwanda HS, CA headed up to Montlake this weekend after previously visiting Arizona and Oregon State. Rated by 247sports as the 45th best quarterback in the country, Davis is another late riser in the recruiting rankings who is just starting to open the eyes of evaluators around the country. Listed at 6’4” and around 190 pounds, Davis has a good arm and when I watch his film it looks very similar to recent enrollee Austin Davis (effortless in his throwing and movement). After loosing their lone QB commit the Husky staff would love to add Davis to their roster and see him flourish in their system.

Also joining all of the visitors listed above were current commits Justice Williams (who committed to UW yesterday and we wrote about him here), and Paki Finau (who committed to UW a couple of months ago). Williams and Finau were both heavily recruited by most of the Pac12 and are both great pickups for the Husky class. With yesterdays addition of Williams and Jason Robinson the Husky class now holds 3 commitments.

As I mentioned above it sounds like several more of the visitors will likely be committing to UW today and when that happens we will make sure to post that news here. That is all for now and as always follow me @asieverkropp.