Just glancing at the 2021 class, the answer to that question is: Yes. Perhaps they could eclipse the number-ten spot and possibly land higher in the national recruiting rankings.
Let’s take an early look at what could happen in 2021, and how this could happen.
Chris Petersen set the foundation of how Washington recruits; his structure, Built for Life, and two Pac-12 championships have spoken for themselves during the past few years.
Going back to 2017, the Huskies finished ranked #22 nationally.
In 2018, they were 16th.
And in 2019 they were 15th (second in the Pac-12).
And now, in 2020, they are 14th nationally, and first in the Pac-12.
Obviously there’s been an uptick every year — and just because Petersen handed the reins over to Jimmy Lake, it doesn’t mean that trend is ending.
Lake has been under the tutelage of Petersen for eight years, and he — himself — said he knows Petersen’s “secret sauce”. Lake also said he plans to take it all one step further.
We all know that Lake is a relentless recruiter who has gone head-to-head with the likes of Notre Dame, Oregon, USC, and others to bring home some of the top defensive backs in the land the past few years. So now with Lake sitting in the oval office of Husky Football, all the pieces are in place for a Top 10 finish in 2021.
Already, Washington has five-star quarterback Sam Huard committed, but there are others in the state who have those cinco estrellas in 2021.
The state is loaded next year, and the prize is JT Tuimoloau; a 6-4, 277 lb. defensive tackle out of Eastside Catholic. This kid is an absolute beast, and don’t let all the network guys fool you — Washington is in a terrific spot to land this local, elite athete.
Then you have Steilacoom High School wideout, Emeka Egbuka. He’s ranked as an ATH in most databases but he’s a five-star prospect and he loves the home state Huskies.
Also, factor in the number of four-star guys who have been offered locally; Julien Simon, Will Latu, and Owen Prentice.
Washington could very well land all of these guys — and that’s no joke.
Out of state the Huskies are in a good spot with several four-star prospects and most of them are seriously considering Washington.
There’s no reason to believe that Washington will take any step back in recruiting just because Jimmy Lake is now the coach, on the contrary. I expect Husky Recruiting to take a step forward because of the foundation that Petersen built, and the fact that Lake is going to sprinkle in even more spice into that “secret sauce”.
The state of Washington is just flat out ripe in 2021 and Washington’s trajectory is such that the 14th ranked 2020 class stayed intact despite a pre-signing-day head coaching change.
After covering recruiting for 20 years, that’s just unheard of when there’s a sudden change to that degree.
There will always be a lot of hype and flash and bought-and-paid-for love from the networks for Oregon (as there is every year), but Washington is going to out-recruit them again in 2021.
The pieces are in place and the planets have aligned.
Just landing one five-star and a bunch of four-star guys in 2020 catapulted the Huskies past an Oregon class that signed two five stars. What happens next year if they sign a bunch of four stars again and two five stars this time?
The reason Washington beat Oregon in recruiting this year is because they signed more four-star guys. So you do the math.
So take this reasoning and possible 2021 outcome in recruiting and get ready for the Lake Show at Washington.
You won’t want to miss an episode.
