Washington Huskies Recruiting: Sarkisian Looking Beyond California in 2013

Early success in college football recruiting solely depends on the perspective of the individual dissecting the information. Until a recruit finishes his college football career the only enlightenment recruiting services provides fans are rankings, player ratings, and the  hope that said recruiting classes reward fans with winning seasons.  

Over the past three years Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian has signed highly ranked recruiting classes including his 2012 class ranked No. 20 by Rivals.com and No. 22 by Scout.com.

A staple in Sarkisian’s past recruiting classes have been signing talent from California but also keeping in-state players at home. Over the past two years 28 players have been plucked from the Golden State. Only five players signed out of the Evergreen State in 2012, nine committed in 2011.

For Sarkisian and the Huskies to improve upon their success in recruiting and in Pac-12 conference play, the coaching staff needs to baton down the hatches on talented in-state recruits and expand beyond the fertile but competitive grounds of California .

The loss of the top four rated players from the state of Washington in the 2012 class hurts especially when three home grown talents leave for competing Pac-12 programs. None perhaps more devastating than the deflection of five-star offensive tackle Zach Banner to USC.

The late deflections of 3-star defensive end Pio Vatuvei from USC and five-star safety Shaquille Thompson from Cal to the Huskies cannot always be counted upon.

Much of the recruiting success in Washington’s 2011 class was the ability to sign nine of the top-15 in-state players including four of the top five.

Rivals.com and Scout.com premiered their early 2013 top-100 list this week. Only one in-state player, quarterback Max Browne from Skyline High School in Sammamish, made the list.

Scout.com ranks Browne No. 15 while Rivals.com lists him as the No. 8 player in the nation.

Browne has put together back-to-back 4,000 yard passing seasons with 95 touchdowns and only 20 interceptions. Wisconsin, Cal, Clemson, Arizona State, and Alabama have all offered Browne a scholarship to date.

One of the highlights of Sarkisian’s 2012 class was the signing of two Elite 11 quarterbacks- 4-stars Jeff Lindquist and Cyler Miles.

Will Miles and Lindquist scare off the highly touted Browne in 2013 to another Pac-12 rival?

The good news is the Huskies currently have 31 scholarship offers out to prospects from across the nation. In past recruiting classes Sarkisian has done a good job of pulling the occasional player out of Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.

The early efforts by the Huskies’ staff for the 2013 class has interest from players in 10 different states including Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 22 of the players are rated a 4-star or better including five-star recruit Max Browne.

Other than Browne, inside linebacker Sean Constantine from Bellevue High School is the only other in-state player that has been officially offered by Sarkisian.

Even better news is seven of the top-100 players announced by Scout.com list Washington as a school of interest.

How many top recruits will the Huskies sign in 2013?

Here’s a list of the seven players with the Huskies among their early favorites:

(Position/Player/Measurements/Rating/Location)

OLB Michael Hutchings, 6’1”, 210 pounds, 5-star, Concord, CA

QB Max Browne, 6’5”, 196 pounds, 5-star, Sammamish, WA

OG John Lopez, 6’5”, 320 pounds, 4-star, Orange, CA

DE Marcus Farria, 6’4”, 240 pounds, 4-star, Peoria, AZ

MLB Chans Cox, 6’3”, 220 pounds, 4-star, Lakeside, AZ

SS Su’a Cravens, 6’1”, 205 pounds, 4-star, Murrieta, CA

CB L.J. Moore, 6’1”, 175 pounds, 4-star, Fresno, CA

The Huskies do not have a verbal commitment for the 2013 class at this time. 

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