Today let’s focus on one guy and one guy only: Bellingham, WA. 2022 tailback, Djouvensky (Ben) Schlenbaker.
The reason for this focus is that there’s been a lot of questions about his timeline, why he may be waiting to make a decision, and just exactly where he sits on the Huskies’ board for 2022.
It’s always easy to assume a local guy with six early offers (Cal, WSU, Air Force, Washington, Virginia Tech, and Colorado) would just jump the gun, secure his spot, and commit to the more local school.
But it’s not as easy as everything thinks.
Schlenbaker, who’s 6-1 and-a-half and 205 lbs., hasn’t even had a chance to see the Washington campus — let alone go to a Husky home game or have a chance to sit down and talk with Jimmy Lake in person. So would he be willing to take a leap of faith and commit this early?
The Schlenbaker family is a mix of different fanbases; some Husky fans, some WSU fans, and even some Ohio State fans, but one thing going in the Huskies’ favor is the fact that they are perfectly willing to wait.
Keith Bhonapha has talked to Schlenbaker and his family several times and explained that it’s Djouvensky or bust for 2022. He’s the guy.
Of course there were others offered, and Washington will continue to recruit them, but the freedom afforded to Bhonapha because of the depth chart right now makes it a perfect scenario for Schlenbaker.
Other schools might begin to apply more pressure — spots may become scarce — and yet this young man is nowhere near a decision.
Granted, Schlenbaker is on track to graduate early and enroll early, but several of the guys Washington has already offered may be long shots at this point.
So Washington can wait.
As for his interest in Washington, this is a kid who grew up watching Husky Football, and his mother, Kendra told me a few days ago that the family loves Bhonapha and “would love” to finally meet Jimmy Lake.
“Djouvensky is very visual, and so he needs to see these places in person”, she explained.
But one thing for certain is that, in the final analysis, it will come down to where there is a great family atmosphere, “Where I know he would be taken care of”, Kendra said.
So don’t get too impatient if this young man lets this go all the way into the fall of 2021 at the latest, but the best-case scenario would be if the extended Dead Period ends before spring and he and his family can begin to truly go through the recruiting process.
Be sure and watch for his name to be called when Squalicum High School begins their season after the first of the year; this kid is a genuine baller who’s going to earn more offers once his junior season has ended.
Hence, the wait…
