Within an hour of arriving at the University of Washington on Friday, 4-star defensive end Anthony Davis sat in Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer’s office.  There, with his parents at his side, on a sofa that had seen a lot of happy tears over the years, was a moment that may have changed the trajectory of recruiting for the Huskies.  Looking to close on the biggest prospect on campus the final weekend in June before the dead period the new Husky head coach asked the former Texas A&M commit what else he was looking for to commit.

“Ima make it easy,” he said to DeBoer.  “I want to commit to Washington.  There is nowhere else I want to be”

But there on the sofa, with his parents at his side, everybody’s eyes were dry.

“It wasn’t just a me decision.  It was my family, my coaches, we all knew that this place was right,” he said.  “It was decided a long time ago.”

Even before the former Texas A&M commit had gotten to see Seattle under the sun.

“I knew it was a great place,” he said.  “But seeing it all was amazing.”

James’ commitment to Washington completed a loop that began months ago.

“When the coaches visited my school they didn’t just talk with me, they spent an hour–two hours with my coaches,” the 6-5, 245-pound defensive end said of the coaching staff’s interest in him.  “They went into great detail (about what the University of Washington had to offer).”

Since that time he’s maintained contact with the coaches–and not just the coaches that were recruiting him.

He visited Washington on April 30th and decommitted from the Aggies a little over 3 weeks later.

“(The Washington coaches) have been consistent in keeping up with me,” he said.  “Not just the defensive coaches but the coaches on offense, as well.  They all talk to me and my family.”

Even with knowing he’d be a Husky, he took a couple of other visits just to check them out.

“I wanted to see what else was out there to see if it was right,” he said.

But on those trips, it was obvious that the connection that he had with the Washington staff couldn’t be replicated.

“They make me and my family feel special,” he said.

With kicking off the big recruiting weekend, he’d begin recruiting the other players, right?

“Not really.  We just hung out and had a great time,” James said.  “We really just bonded.  It was the coaches that did the work.  They did everything right.”

And they did it right 5 more times this past weekend.