It’s nearing the middle of July, and Dead Period only last another two weeks. What will the biggest recruiting storylines be in the weeks heading into fall camp?
The coaches are back from vacations and the biggest thing on their minds right now is preparing their rooms for those four weeks in August prior to the opener against Auburn — but they also never stop recruiting — so you can bet they’ve shipped in cases of Red Bull and Keurig K-Cups to the football offices on Montlake.
As we’ve reported all along, Washington will likely take around 7 to 8 more guys and call it a day (if that). But not all of these “Woofs” will take place before the end of summer. That doesn’t mean, however, that there won’t be a lot of drama unfolding in the weeks ahead.
Here’s our list of the Five Biggest Storylines to follow between now and the end of August:
Number 1: Safeties
It’s my belief that Washington will have finished their safety class by the time fall camp is in full swing. Watch for Cameron Williams announcement (first reported by Realdawg.com) coming on July 25th. Things look real, real good for Washington right now in getting the once-committed Duck to being a now-committed Husky.
Also a big story will be if and when Asa Turner makes an announcement. I’m hearing from very good sources that Washington is in a real good place for Turner right now — and he could be a big-time safety for Washington. While Turner hasn’t set any definitive date yet, I feel this could come down by early to mid-August.
Number 2: O-line
Washington holds a strong lead for Hawai’i OL, Julius Buelow. I believe he could actually have his decision made by the end of the month. In fact, I believe he’s already made his decision but he just needs to get his family on board. Don’t take that the wrong way either. The family loves Washington and would be perfectly happy for him to go to Washington — it was just a matter of making sure he’d seen all that he needs to see.
Number 3: Tight end recruiting
I don’t believe Washington will have secured a commitment from a tight end by the end of summer — but I do believe they will have a clear picture of what they’re dealing with. I believe Jude Wolfe is leaning hard to USC. The reason being is that it’s close to home for him, he’s taken an official visit (the only one he’s taken), and just from talking with Wolfe recently, I get the sense he’s not as high on Washington as he once was because of the tight end depth chart. Washington may not have the depth here that everyone thinks they have, however (more on that later).
For awhile, I thought they might not even take a tight end if they don’t get a guy that is high on their board like a Jude Wolfe or Isaiah Foskey, but I’ve come to reconsider that opinion. I still think Washington could make a run at a guy like Cal commit, Bradley Archer, and Foskey isn’t completely out of the picture either. Foskey and the Husky coaches hadn’t touched base with each other about taking an earlier visit during June, and he’s supposed to be going to Notre Dame during the last weekend of July — but with his desire to play in a pro-style offense, his best bet would be to stay on the West Coast. Either way, if Wolfe commits to USC, then things will take a different turn with tight end recruiting heading into fall.
Number 4: Darien Chase
Chase is not doing interviews right now. Except he is texting just to say he can’t do any interviews right now. He’s not being snarky about it, just wants to keep his head clear and take time to really consider his options before his announcement date in late August. In fact, he’s been so quiet lately — I truly am not sure what he’s up to. I’m hearing that Oregon may have gained some ground with him when he was there for camp, but nothing is clear at this point. The whole thing is a little mysterious, and I think he wanted it that way. Regardless, this will be a big storyline to follow as we head into mid-August (August 20th, to be exact).
Number 5: Setting the stage for December
It may seem weird to talk about what will take place in December while it’s still July — and what does this have to do with the top storylines going into August? The reason I brought it up here is because I believe we’ll see a clearer picture in late August of who’s who on the wait-and-see list and the possible-early-c0mmitment list.
We know that Joe Ngata is still out there flying the friendly skies on a family vacay while guys like Apu Ika, Faatui Tuitele, Drake Jackson, Bralen Trice, and Stephon Wright are still hanging out — all undecided. I feel that Ngata will secure an official visit to Washington by the time the season starts, but he doesn’t really need that in order to make a pledge to the Huskies (if he so chooses). But here’s my thought on this: If he sets up an official trip to Washington and hasn’t yet set any others up by mid fall, I’m predicting he’ll be a Husky.
Whereas all the others mentioned (mostly DL’s), will be coming to Washington in December. I know guys like to bring up Maninoa Tufono all the time, and I haven’t the slightest idea where his heads at — but I do know that things could be steering back in Washington’s favor with Tuitele. The Huskies also continue to look good with Ika, Wright, and even Trice.
So here’s the deal with all of that — the Huskies look to finish strong again this year with their D-line recruiting. A year ago there was a great deal of weeping and gnashing of teeth among fans over DL recruiting, and I kept saying “they’re going to finish strong — just watch”.
And they did.
So I’m saying this again. They have several options and all are top tier targets. So here’s what to watch for:
** Will Apu Ika add in an unofficial during the season?
** Washington is the only Pac-12 school on Tuitele’s wish-list right now. Will he take all five visits? If not, Washington could get him in on December 15th.
** Is Drake Jackson still feeling the glow he felt following his official visit three weeks ago? If he is, will he make a decision before the season starts?
Keep these guys in your sights in the weeks ahead.
And one more thing…
It came to my attention (thanks to Twitter messaging) that there are reports that Washington is back on running back, Jayvaun Wilson, who’s currently committed to Oregon.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Washington has a 4-star tailback already committed, and as I’ve said repeatedly the last couple of weeks, the only way the Huskies would take another back is if it were a Zach Charbonnet. But barring a complete Harbaugh implosion at Michigan this fall, that will not happen. Last year there was continual talk (from the same source as the Wilson nonsense) that UW was looking at other tailbacks, and I kept reporting this was not true.
Now, here we are again and it’s the same thing as last year. Washington is not going to go after another tailback at this point.
Almost forgot….
I should have added a Number 6: Laiatu Latu is supposed to be in Seattle that last weekend in July — I will double-check on that this week and see if I can confirm it (again). Whether or not this is an official or unofficial visit is the big question.
