Washington’s recruiting class made national headlines this week, and not for the reasons you might think. The Huskies finished 93rd in recruiting class rankings, eight spots behind the Campbell Fighting Camels (an incredible mascot name I might add). Now, before I get into the nitty-gritty of where expectations should be with the 2023 class, be aware that the rankings don’t take into account transfers, where Washington grabbed several impact players.

It’s time for the staff to really get to work on the recruiting trail. From several players that I’ve spoken with, the coaches have done a great job establishing relationships with players all over the country, and have put in a lot of effort to try to expand Washington’s recruiting footprint to a national level. But right now, it’s time to develop relationships with players in the state of Washington.

The staff’s Junior Day went very well with the out-of-state prospects, but it appears most of the in-state prospects were playing in the Space Needle Shootout 7on7 tournament and didn’t attend. The first thing director of player personnel Courtney Morgan should prioritize as soon as the current NCAA dead period is lifted is an in-state Junior Day, to get players like Jayden Wayne, Gabarri Johnson, Jasiah Wagoner, and all the other high profile prospects on campus to build relationships with the new staff.

Until then, it’s time to remember the ABCs (Always Be Crootin’). Kalen DeBoer has emphasized recruiting since his opening press conference, and 2023 is going to be the big test to see if he’s up for the challenge. USC and Oregon have assembled staffs full of big names and elite recruiters. DeBoer put together an excellent staff, but with most of his crew coming with him from Fresno State, it’s a little bit harder to develop the relationships that coaches going from Georgia to Oregon or Oklahoma to USC already have with some bigger name prospects.

Now, the staff has more than enough time to develop relationships and sell the University of Washington to the class of 2023. It’s time for DeBoer to lead the charge and land a few early commitments, maybe from some in-state players who can lead the charge as peer recruiters. The two biggest tests for the staff will be Wayne, where they clearly have a lot of ground to make up, and Jaden Rashada, where they seem to be in a good position.

This staff had a lot of ground to make up from the dreadful 2021 season, plus the previous staff didn’t seem to prioritize recruiting at all, and DeBoer’s staff clearly had to pay the price early on for those failings. If he can show recruits an ability to succeed with the talent that he has on the roster and the scheme that he showed at Fresno State, recruiting will get much easier.