It seemed like former Washington head coach Jimmy Lake tried to build a dam around the state—with a chain link fence.

5-star DE Jayden Wayne, 4-stars QB Gabarri Johnson, DB Jasiah Wagoner, RB Jayden Limar, all should have been layups.

Especially, Limar who told me that he felt that building a powerhouse for the Huskies with the level of in-state talent got the class of 2023 was his goal.  He referenced Lake Stevens High School football that was built on developing the talent in the Lake Stevens area unlike the private schools.  Last season LSHS finished 2nd in 4A to Graham Kapowsin.

Looking forward to the next crop of home-grown talent, there are some highly-touted must-get players, starting with two O’Dea products 5-star offensive lineman Papa Ahfua and 4-star Jason Brown.

Then there’s Yelm’s 4-star LB Brayden Platt, Federal Way’s Rahshawn Clark, and Bellevue’s 4-star TE Hogan Hanson.

All 5 are national recruits with the Huskies high in their lists.  We’ve seen the tireless efforts of the new Washington staff.  Putting that much energy into building the relationships that have won over so many of the 9 players who’ve committed in the past 10 days will begin to turn things around for the Huskies in the Evergreen state.

For the rest of the uncommitted class of 2023, 4-star DB Caleb Presley an Oregon lean, and Hatchett’s Ferndale teammate, 3-star LB Isaiah Carlson doesn’t have a Washington offer.

Who knows if it’s too late to flip a local kid, after all, DeBoer flipped 4-star DE Anthony James from Texas A&M— never say never.