The Pac-12 upped the ante in a big way before the end of the 2022 recruiting cycle. USC hired Lincoln Riley, who’s at worst a top five head coach in the country in terms of recruiting. Then, Oregon hired Dan Lanning, who’s put together a staff that while might not be that impressive in terms of on-field development, they can recruit with the best. It shouldn’t be out of the question for both of those schools to put together top 10 classes on a year-to-year basis. Washington needs to keep pace.
Kalen DeBoer clearly understands this, and made some great hires in former Michigan staffers Courtney Morgan and Jerret McElwain. As his directors of player personnel and scouting respectively, they deserve a lot of credit for the Wolverines’ recruiting success over the last few seasons, and Morgan (who has been with the program longer) seems to have brought a vision of national success to Montlake. He’s extended offers to prospects in every corner of the country, and now comes the most important part, closure.
Morgan has developed relationships with some of the country’s best players, and has already confirmed visits with players that would’ve probably never been a realistic goal. Now, Washington is getting visits from players like Anthony James and Hunter Osborne. Getting these national recruits on campus is step one, and now it’s time to sell, sell, sell.
2022 is basically over for the Huskies save for a few prospects and the transfer portal. The biggest fish in the sea is still out there though, and it does appear Rainier Beach’s five-star tackle Josh Conerly is going to take an official visit to Washington once the dead period is over. Conerly and four-star linebacker Kevontae Henry are probably the only big targets left on the board, along with getting three-star offensive lineman Vega Ioane back in the boat.
The coaching staff seems to have put together an impressive list of guests for their first Junior Day, which is coming up on January 29th. The importance of the class of 2023 can’t be stressed enough, both in state, and to build momentum for DeBoer and the rest of his staff. If everyone on the staff is as committed to recruiting as their head coach seems to be, there are a lot of good things in the works on Montlake. Recruiting is all about effort and sales, and we’re going to find out soon if this staff can put that together, and parlay it into success.
