The third time may have been a charm for Mater Dei tight end Spencer Shannon’s trip to Seattle where he was able to see all of the splendor–from Washington’s coach’s office.
“Super eye opening,” the Mater Dei senior-to be said. “It was something else. You could see Mt. Rainier, right there.”
Last season’s consensus national champion, Mater Dei is up to their old tricks climbing to the top of Sports Illustrated’s 2022 Preseason Power 25 Rankings. Primarily used a a blocker on Mater Dei’s unbeaten season in 2021, Shannon expects to have a larger role as a pass-catcher in the Monarch’s offense with CJ Williams now at USC.
“I am working a lot with Elijah (Brown his starting QB) so that he’s comfortable with throwing the ball to me when I’m wide open or in tight spaces,” the Washington weekend visitor said. “A lot of times I use my leverage to gain an advantage in tight spaces.”
Sometimes he uses his nearly 6-11 wing-span to gain separation. This season Shannon can be a weapon in the Red Zone and could see Shannon’s star rise even higher as Mater Dei defends its title.
“Shannon is just starting to come into his own,” said RealDawg.com’s high school recruiting analyst, Trevor Mueller. “Unlike some other players at other schools he won’t rack up crazy stats because Mater Dei is so loaded at the skill positions and won’t have to rely on Shannon.”
It’s Shannon’s size that impresses Mueller.
“At 6-7 and 240 pounds he is a high-ceiling guy in college–especially in a scheme like Washington’s,” Mueller noted. “With his long levers and leaping ability he can change 50-50 balls into 73-30 balls. He’s a big target with a tremendous catch radius especially on third down.”
Tight end is a huge focus in the 2023 recruiting class for DeBoer, with the Huskies likely taking two in the 2023 recruiting cycle. In all the Huskies have sent out 10 offers to tight ends.
Shannon has fielded several Power 5 offers including Texas, Tennessee, Utah, UCLA, Cal, and Washington, and WSU. More offers will also mean a higher profile for what may scouts out west already know.
“I don’t expect that he will be a 3-star tight end much longer–especially once he fills out his frame,” Mueller said. “Adding 10-15 pounds without losing any athleticism won’t be difficult for him.”
This weekend was his second trip to Washington in a month, and his third trip to Seattle. His a month ago was on his own dime, again on his own dime. This time he took in Seattle on a picture-perfect weekend in May before the upcoming NCAA dead period.
Huge thank you to @NickSheridanUW @KalenDeBoer @UW_Football for an amazing visit!
☂️☔️☂️☔️#GoHuskies#PurpleReign#BowDown pic.twitter.com/srxzrvfFXE— Spencer Shannon (@Spencer1722) April 22, 2022
While he’s still working out a timetable for making a commitment, he plans on releasing his Top 3 soon.
“It was the overall experience of the players and how much they interact with each other,” he said. “Culture is number 1. I was blown away with how cool a high profile guys like Sam Huard is. He’s so down to Earth.”
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