If you had asked Chris Petersen which recruit would be the MVP of this class, he would say that any of these guys could play anywhere. Oh wait, he did say that.
Today, Petersen faced the media to talk about the new class, and he did toss in a few shots at the ugly side of college recruiting, but other than that — the coach had a lot to feel proud about.
For one thing — head coaches don’t do all this by themselves. They have a lot on their plates; booster events, fund-raising events, smiling for photos with little kids, radio shows, TV appearances, coaching the coaches, overseeing the entire system of Husky Football – and fine-tuning all the details. He’s also the closer. But something has to happen in order for there to be something to close.
Chris Petersen is so detailed, in fact, that when he hires assistant coaches — he treats it like he would recruiting. They have to be OKG’s. They have to be willing and ready and able to work within his system and represent it in the living rooms and the practice fields and the sidelines and up in the booth.
This 2018 class, ranked #1 in the Pac-12 and #11 nationally was a group effort. So let’s take a minute and say kudos to the whole group. In case you didn’t notice, here’s a few things to know about these assistant coaches. Not out of a media guide, but from someone who has covered this team and covered recruiting and watched it all play out.
Pete Kwiatkowski: Nationally recognized this year for the work he’s done with the Husky defense since he arrived o the UW campus with Chris Petersen. Coach K has been called a “defensive genius” by recruits. Kwiatkowski has been bringing Washington back to a place where defenses are mean and you look forward to them being on the field.
Keith Bhonapha: Originally from Oakland, knows the bay area, develops running backs who rush for over 1000 yards during their freshman season. And then puts all the touches on the recruiting efforts while serving as recruiting coordinator. When so many fans were focused on this running back or that running back, Bhonapha kept on going after Richard Newton, and he got him. The man obviously knows talent when he sees it.
Ikaika Malloe: Adds in the Poly flavor, and knows how to recruit the Southwest Mountain states, the Islands, and also just happen to play for Washington. So many detractors were going after Malloe because of what happened with Marlon Tuipulotu last year, as if he had any control over that, and this year he came back and landed a ferocious group of defensive linemen. Malloe might seem like a mild-mannered guy off the field, but on the field he’s a guy who will keep sending the message to his players: “Get your mind right”. Vita Vea says Hi.
Scott Huff: The “new guy” who took over after Chris Strausser left last year. Huff is a coach who played the position and knows a little something about developing offensive hosses. In a year when so many linemen wanted an offer from UW, Huff was able to pick and choose the guys he wanted to go after — and he got the ones he wanted. The Husky OL showed its teeth a lot this season, but the overhead of the pile-driving against Washington State was ridiculous. Huff is pushing those guys to be more than they are.
Jimmy Lake: Turning UW into DB-U, putting out sick-good defensive backs on a yearly basis now. What can you say about Lake? Except that the only way teams can recruit against him is to lie to recruits about where he’ll be in a year. We all know where he’ll be, back on the sidelines at Husky Stadium coaching up his secondary. Nice try fellas, but you’re going to have to keep trying to recruit against the other Lake at Washington. Good luck with that.
Jordan Paopao: All he does is go into the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest and gets guys to come to Washington. Paopao has been a spark in the Huskies’ recruiting efforts with his youth and ability to connect to players and their families. Paopao is all about energy — and he has done a tremendous job with the development of the Husky tight ends. Paopao and Kwiatkowski were a big reason that Brandon Kaho kept his eyes fixed on Washington while Alabama and USC were making their run.
Bob Gregory: Coach Gregory is just cool — for lack of a better word. Gregory has been alongside Petersen long enough (like others on this staff) that he knows exactly what’s expected out of the linebackers under Petersen’s system. Gregory was instrumental in landing players such as MJ Tafisi this year. Look at the production of the Husky linebackers, and then you’ll know why Gregory is a guy that Washington is so fortunate to have.
Matt Lubick: The other “new guy” who came in and had to work fast and hard to win over guys like Austin Osborne and Marquis Spiker who were so close to Bush Hamdan. Lubick did just that. He’s been around this game for several years and knows his stuff. Recruits love him, and once Hamdan returns as the offensive coordinator the two of them will be a real duo in the offensive recruiting efforts.
Chris Petersen is the guy who gets to sit at the mic and address the media on a signing day such as this one — but kudos need to go out to the whole staff. These guys are on it day in and day out — whether it’s watching film, game-planning, boarding airplane after airplane to go see recruits, spending time away from their wives and children, and doing everything they can to give Husky fans a reason to stand up and scream their lungs out during consecutive 10-win seasons.
So, just as Coach Pete said that any one of those kids that signed today could have played just about anywhere, there’s not just one MVP on this staff either.
They’re all valuable players — and deserve a game ball for what they did this recruiting season.
And it aint over just yet.
