Exciting Days Upcoming for Husky Football Recruiting

With the High School Football All-Star games coming up this weekend, many recruits will be looking to decide where they will attend college for the next four years of their life. These games provide many of the top recruits in the nation to face-up against each other all week in practice and then show their skills come game time on the weekends. What also comes with these all-star games are college announcements. Many kids announce actually during the game and put on the hat of their favorite school. The three main all-star games are the Semper Fidelis All-American Game (Friday), the Under Armour All-American Game (Saturday), and the big one, the Army All-American Game (Saturday). The Huskies have recruits or commits in each of these three games. Here are some recruits that could announce for the Huskies this weekend.

Joe Mathis DE/LB (CA) – Army All American Game
This hybrid defensive end/linebacker is very strong and his signature move is his straight up bull rush. He lost some weight over the summer to become quicker and stronger and it has led him to success so far. Think of a Josh Shirley type player except a little stronger and quicker. Mathis would be a big addition to the Huskies and this four-star prospect would perform well under the guidance of Tosh Lupoi and Peter Sirmon. His other finalists, besides the Huskies, are USC, UCLA and Alabama. He has only officially visited UW out of the four. My prediction is that he will announce for the Huskies.

JoJo Mathis would have an instant impact on the Huskies defense.

247sports.com

John Ross WR (CA) – Semper Fidelis All American Bowl
This 5’10” wide receiver could be the deep threat that the Huskies need. Jaydon Mickens has proven to be valuable for the Huskies, but with the dropped passes, Ross could provide some help. He is a four star wide out who has big play ability and can get down the field with ease. With a commitment from Ross, the Huskies would be set for their 2013 class in receiving. Ross’ finalists are UCLA, UW, Oregon and Oregon State. I expect John Ross to announce for Oregon this Friday at the Semper Fi game, but he could still choose Washington. I did expect him to commit to UW until some recent news I heard from a source. Ross could still pop for UW and don't be surprised if he does.

Thomas Duarte TE (CA) – Semper Fidelis All American Bowl
Duarte has been a great receiver at the high school level for a couple of years now, but look to him to convert to a TE once he hits college. Most schools are recruiting him as a TE. He is a very good route runner and has great hands. The only weakness in his game is his blocking ability. Duarte’s skill set is similar to that of David Ajamu’s, who is already committed to UW. Because of the similar skill sets, I don’t really see Duarte picking UW out of his finalists of UW, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Notre Dame. I expect Duarte to pick UCLA as that is the only place he has constantly visited.
 and that has room for him at the TE position.

Commits or Players Considering UW Who Most Likely Won’t Announce This Weekend
Semper Fi Game: Commits: Darrell Daniels, Elijah Qualls (who apparently has been tearing it up in practice), Dane Crane, Daeshon Hall, Sean Harlow. Considering: Johnny Johnson, Aaron Cochran, Lowell Lotulelei, Braydon Kearsley, Austin Hooper, John Ross, Thomas Duarte.

Army Game: Commits: none. Considering: Joe Mathis, Eddie Vanderdoes, Jalen Ramsey, Nico Falah, Michael Hutchings, Myles Jack.

Under Armour Game: Commits: Demore’ea Stringfellow. Considering: Reuben Foster, Priest Willis.

Securing a committment from Reuben Foster would go to show that the Huskies have taken another step forward to becoming an elite team.

Surprise Commit
According to some people that I have talked to and Ryan Turman’s Twitter account (a UW walk-on wide receiver commit), there could be a surprise commit this weekend. I am told it is on the defensive side of the ball and not one of the players that I mentioned above. I am not confirming this report at all; it’s just what I have heard. Make sure to be watching the All American Games to find out if there could be a surprise commitment. Just wanted to pass along some news I heard.

January and the beginning of February are exciting times for high school football recruiting. The Huskies have a very active staff who are searching everywhere for the best players that fir their system. Tosh Lupoi and Co. are very talented recruiters who can sway even some of the loyalist of people. Tosh has already shown that in swaying Eddie Vanderdoes. The Huskies are in on lots of highly rated recruits and look for them to end up with at least atop 20, probably a top 15 recruiting class. Keep an eye out for the latest commits and make sure to watch the all-star games this weekend.

Thanks for reading and follow us on Twitter @seasportssoup! Like us on Facebook as well! Keep checking back for more updates.

Marshall

A Closer Look at UW Huskies Football Recruiting

The Huskies have done a very solid job recruiting thus far. As we enter the last three months prior to signing day, where every day is hectic in recruiting, we take a look at the verbal commitments the Dawgs have received so far and some of the recruits who are seriously considering UW. Here are the Huskies current 18 verbal commitments:

Verbal Commits

Troy Williams (Narbonne HS/Calif.) – QB

Lavon Coleman (Lompoc HS/Calif.) – RB
Demore’ea Stringfellow (Rancho Verde HS/Calif.) – WR
Darrell Daniels (Freedom HS/Calif.) – WR
Sammie Long (Lakes HS/Wash.) – WR
Sean Harlow (San Clemente HS/Calif.) – OG
Andrew Kirkland (Jesuit HS/Oreg.) – OG
Dane Crane (Santa Margarita Catholic HS/Calif.) – C
Elijah Qualls (Casa Grande HS/Calif.) – DT
Andrew Basham (Lynnwood HS/Wash.) – DT
Jaimie Bryant (Tumwater HS/Wash.) – DT
Daeshon Hall (Lancaster HS/Texas) – DE
Marcus Farria (Centennial HS/Ariz.) – DE
Connor O’Brien (Santa Margarita Catholic HS/Calif.) – OLB
Caleb Tucker (Ouachita Parish HS/Louis.) – OLB
Sean Constantine (Bellevue HS/Wash.) – MLB
Kevin King (Bishop O’Dowd HS/Calif.) – CB
Cameron Van Winkle (Mt. Si HS/Wash.) – K

The class so far, made up of mostly three and four-star players, is a class that can come in and make an impact on the program right away. Whether it is on the field in games or improving the starters in practice, this class has displayed lots of determination and heart. This class isn’t even near done either as Sarkisian and his staff of ace recruiters look to add some more top-tier talent. Here is a look at some of the remaining targets on the board and the kind of shot the Huskies have at landing each recruit.

Washington's ace reruiter, Tosh Lupoi.

Kim Grinolds/Dawgman.com



 

Players UW is Currently Recruiting

Tahaan Goodman (Rancho Cucamonga HS/Calif.) – S

This long and hard-hitting safety has been considering the Huskies for a while now. He has family in the South and has been considering LSU, but recently has been focusing on four schools, those being UCLA, Oregon, USC and Washington. The Dawgs have a shot at landing this big-time recruit, but I think he ends up heading to L.A. to play for the Bruins.

Max Redfield (Mission Viejo HS/Calif.) – S
This kid is a player. One of the best safeties in California, if not the west coast, is a current USC- commit, but all those USC commits will be taking their visits as they never know when their scholarship offers could be lifted with the limited scholarships. Redfield was recently wowed by his trip to Notre Dame and has always consistently mentioned the Ducks, Irish, Huskies and Trojans in his top schools. The only way the Dawgs have a shot with him is if they impress him on his official visit up to Seattle for the Utah game. I still think he will end up at USC.

Myles Jack (Bellevue HS/Wash.) – LB

This pure athlete has always been on the Huskies radar. Ever since he moved up to Bellevue from the South, his recruitment and popularity has blown up. Even though he is currently committed to UCLA, the Huskies have always been in contact with him. He has been to every Huskies home game this season and seems to be wavering in his commitment a little bit. Even with this waver, I still think he ends up as a Bruin.





If the Huskies can get Myles Jack to flip his committment, he could contribute right away for the Huskies linebacking core.

northwestprepreport.com

Danny Mattingly (Mead HS/Wash.) – TE/LB
A two way athlete, Danny Mattingly impressed many scouts during the course of this past summer. Colleges have given him the option to play either linebacker or tight end at the next level, but I see him as more of an effective linebacker for the Dawgs. Unfortunately, Mattingly is committed to Notre Dame, but the good news is that rumors have come out that he has silently decommitted from the Irish after he took an official visit to Washington for the USC game. However, Mattingly has always been enamored by what Oregon has to offer and if the Ducks accept his commitment, look for him to end up there.

Johnny Johnson (Central High East Campus/Calif.) – CB
When Johnson returned from his official visit to Seattle for the Stanford game, he exclaimed that he had a great time. This visit really put the Dawgs up there with his leaders, Stanford and UCLA, and the Dawgs have a good shot at landing this big-time corner prospect. If he gets into Stanford, he’s going there, but if he doesn’t, it will be a tight battle between the Bruins and the Dawgs. I think he’ll end up as a Huskie if this happens.

Joe Mathis (Upland HS/Calif.) – DE/OLB
This quick and strong elite pass-rusher is a former UW commit (that was a while ago though). He has all the makings and strength to contribute immediately at the college level and is looking to take an official visit up to Seattle after his high school season is over. The Huskies stiffest competition is UCLA, USC and Utah. I think Mathis will eventually end up as a Dawg again. His love is just too strong. 

Other names to watch: Thomas Duarte, John Ross, Khalfani Muhammad, Riley Sorenson, Eddie Vanderdoes, Cameron Walker, Patrick Enewally, Austin Hooper, Aaron Cochran, Victor Egu, DeOnte Reynolds, Nic Purcell, Randy Gregory, Jermaine Kelly and Chris Hawkins.

Elijah Qualls looks to convince some other recruits to join him in the Huskies 2013 recruiting class.

Tom Hauck/ESPNHS

In the end, I think the Huskies will come out of these last three months with prospects that have the potential to impact the program in a positive way. These prospects may not be all that highly rated, but in the end, the only thing that counts is their performance on the field. Many top-tier prospects have turned out to be busts and many under the radar recruits have turned out to be stars. You just never know. I think this Huskies staff has the eye and knack for impactful talent and I trust their experience to tell them who to recruit and who not to recruit. I mean their getting paid more money than all of us for a reason, right? I trust our smart and educated coaches.

Thanks for reading and follow us on Twitter @seasportssoup! Like us on Facebook as well! Keep checking back for more updates!

Marshall