2021 UW recruiting class

[Sibelius Hindemith]

How the fuck is Oregon still able to bring in such good classes when they haven't done shit in 7 or 8 years? Knight must really be dishing it out.

[SeattleAddict]

How the fuck is Oregon still able to bring in such good classes when they haven't done shit in 7 or 8 years? Knight must really be dishing it out.

Uncle Phil pays really well, and they take all the gangsta wannabes that can't get into any schools that care at all about academics. It opens up a lot more options when you can offer a 6 figure gift package to a 1.6 GPA and a 620 SAT "student" athlete.

[57reasons]

Seattle Times Sports
@SeaTimesSports
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1m
On Jan. 18, Jimmy Lake told nearly 10,000 fans that "in the state of Washington we have some of the best players in the country, and we need those guys to stay right here — at home — in Seattle."...

Well he sure did a piss poor job accomplishing that. Could have had our best class in history and face planted

Not a total faceplant, only in light of what could have been. worst timing in the world last year for the head coach to lose heart and quit on his talented team, but not before dropping five L's, while the greatest junior class in state history witnessed and turned their attention elsewhere. Happy about Huard, Prentice, Latu, and Tinae, and sure, Lake, Coach K and crew are really good at coaching up the projects and 3-stars, but sure could use the explosiveness of Emeka or JT, or even Simon. and for the life of me, for ALL of the NFL DBs they've churned out in recent years, why cant Lake land an elite class corner?

[Michael K.]

Fifth or sixth in the Conference in recruiting? Yikes, when is the last time it was that low? Petersen's first class?

5th in the conference, but really, it's basically a 3-way tie for 3rd.

UW 30th overall
Utah 29th
Cal 25th
USC 13
Zeros 6

Now, that's not great, I admit, but imagine if we somehow sign Tuimoloau... we for sure vault past Utah and Cal, and maybe USC. Suddenly, it's a great class.

That is a big if, but true. I also wonder if we had more available scholarships, and a bigger class, how much higher would the ranking be? But it PAINS me to see Oregon damn near top 5, USC damn near top 10, with us at 30. It wasn't that long ago Browning and Gaskin were coming off Sophomore Seasons that got us to the Semi Finals and we seemed to be the it team out West. Now? We can't beat Cal or Stanford ever because they run the football and we are 30th in recruiting? It sucks.

[Michael K.]

But there also are some undeniably stinging omissions. The No. 1 player nationally, five-star Eastside Catholic defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau, remains uncommitted but included UW in his top five Wednesday (though most experts expect him to eventually sign with Ohio State). Five-star Steilacoom standout Emeka Egbuka — the top wide receiver in his class — also committed to the Buckeyes over UW and Oklahoma last weekend.

Two more four-star, in-state standouts — Lincoln outside linebacker Julien Simon (USC) and Kennedy Catholic wide receiver Junior Alexander (Arizona State) — signed with Washington’s Pac-12 competitors.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... /#comments

The Kennedy WR is big and fast. That is a big miss, but the LB stings. I think as long as Jimmy believes that the only way to play defense is with six or seven DBs on the field? We are not only going to struggle to stop most teams that aren't coached by a Pirate, but will struggle in recruiting front seven players. If I was a top LB, there is no way in Hell I would come here. So, get used to seeing guys like Jackson Sirmon getting run by and over as he tries to be one of only two LBs on the field trying to stop a power run game.

We have limited talent at LB, and this class had one. He is listed as an OLB, which basically means in this defense he will play DE. Meaning? Once again we will have zero ability to stop the run because not only will we only play 2 LBs, they won't be very good.

[57reasons]

well the good news about returnees is starting to answer the question about the smallish size of the current recruiting class.
from the ST:

"... in the last 24 hours, UW coach Jimmy Lake learned that his leading rusher (McGrew), leading receiver (Otton), leading pass-rusher (Tupuola-Fetui) and top offensive lineman (Kirkland) will all be back in Seattle next season."

in Otton and ZTF we get back our top player on either side of the ball (with apologies to Elijah Molden).
Wattenberg also returning, so the whole starting OL remains intact, and the vaunted OL freshman class of 2020 all got to redshirt.

Looking at that as a whole takes some of the sting out of missing on Egbuka, Simon, and almost certainly Tuimalao.

[57reasons]

We have limited talent at LB, and this class had one. He is listed as an OLB, which basically means in this defense he will play DE. Meaning? Once again we will have zero ability to stop the run because not only will we only play 2 LBs, they won't be very good.

might be homerism, as admittedly i havent watched any tape, but they DID get a decent LB this year - Will Latu from Spanaway, whom Lake was gushing about, saying he expects he will be manning the middle for years.
This 21 class is likely the best the state has EVER seen, with JTT, Egbuka and Huard all being top 12 OVERALL prospects in the country. i think Latu was typically rated as somewhere in the #6 - 8 range for best players in the state.
Simon and Prentice (UW signee) were like 4 and 5, so Latu was right in there with the two Kennedy receivers as next best.
I recall him being on Dawgman's radar for a long time as a future star - came up as a safety as an underclassman, so he has the coverage skills to go along with the size he's added.
As you say, Simon might be more an OLB pass rusher type. UW currently stocked there, with ZTF, Laiatu Latu and Smalls all returning with years left in the system.

[Captain 97]

Just a hunch but I am guessing that the timing of the coaching change in relation to Covid really hurt. When the coach changes its important for the new coach to quickly reinforce those bridges and try and reassure the guys that the previous coach was recruiting. Its kind of hard to do that when you cant travel to see them or have kids in for visits. I think that recruits may be more comfortable going with the HC who has been recruiting them for 3 years vs. the new guy who they have never even gotten the chance to meet.

[Michael K.]

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... 6#comments

More news than I expected today. Not a HS senior, but a transfer with four years of eligibility left. Looks pretty good after the catch in that highlight reel, but with just over 20 catches? They may have shown every catch in that short reel. Not sure if Tech still throws it all over the yard, but 28 catches doesn't seem like a lot. Add in that he didn't average ten yards per catch? Meh.

[57reasons]

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw- ... 6#comments

More news than I expected today. Not a HS senior, but a transfer with four years of eligibility left. Looks pretty good after the catch in that highlight reel, but with just over 20 catches? They may have shown every catch in that short reel. Not sure if Tech still throws it all over the yard, but 28 catches doesn't seem like a lot. Add in that he didn't average ten yards per catch? Meh.

full article here. Sounds pretty good to me - supposedly made a top LSU recruit look silly.

Productive Texas Tech wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk announces transfer to Washington
Feb. 3, 2021 at 10:01 am Updated Feb. 3, 2021 at 12:27 pm
The Huskies come out for their game with Stanford on Dec. 5, 2020 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
The Huskies come out for their game with Stanford on Dec. 5, 2020 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. (Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)
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Mike Vorel By Mike Vorel
Seattle Times staff reporter
Ja’Lynn Polk registered 28 catches for 264 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman at Texas Tech in 2020, and caught at least one pass in all 10 games.

Why, then, did the 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver enter the transfer portal last month?

And why did the east Texas product from little Lufkin High School — the same school as three-star UW running back signee Caleb Berry — find a second home in Seattle, more than 2,200 miles away?

“It was just the culture down there (at Texas Tech), honestly. He was always sad,” said Victor Machado, Polk’s 7-on-7 coach and trainer at Fast Houston. “I used to talk to him and he said he’d come in the building and no one would speak to him. If he didn’t speak to anybody else, nobody would speak to him. I kept telling him, ‘Just wait. Let’s see if it gets better.’ It was just continually like that from probably November through January (when he entered the transfer portal).

“Through Caleb (Berry), I was like, ‘Man, those guys at Washington are just some cool, down-to-earth, real coaches, man.’ And I know they’re getting five-star Sam (incoming freshman QB Sam Huard). I was like, ‘Man, let me make a call real quick.’ Shoot, after that call the dominos fell into place.”

Machado called UW head coach Jimmy Lake and running backs coach Keith Bhonapha.

And on Wednesday — National Signing Day for high school seniors — Polk announced a transfer to Washington, where he’ll be immediately eligible to play this fall.


The former three-star prospect — who chose the Huskies over fellow finalists Houston and Kentucky and has four seasons of eligibility remaining — is expected to enroll for the spring semester, in time for UW’s April practices.

And once he arrives, Machado expects him to make an immediate impression.

“He’s not big on celebrations. He’ll give the ball to the ref,” Machado said. “But he’s going to make some plays. At 7-on-7, we just used to throw it to him. When we’d be talking to the quarterback, we’d say, ‘Just throw the ball to JP. He’s going to catch it. Throw it.’ He went a lot against (2019 consensus All-American) Derek Stingley, the corner for LSU. Man, he made Stingley look terrible.

“He’s going to be making some crazy catches and he’s going to be taking some slants all the way to the house. Believe that.”

But first, he’ll have to earn reps in a wide receiver room that also includes senior Terrell Bynum, junior Puka Nacua, sophomores Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan and incoming freshman Jabez Tinae, among others. Wideouts Ty Jones (Fresno State) and Jordan Chin (Sacramento State) each transferred from UW this offseason, creating an opportunity for Polk to join the fray.

In 2020, Polk signed with Texas Tech after amassing offers from Arkansas, Arizona, Baylor, Houston, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Memphis, Minnesota, Tulane and more. He was ranked by 247Sports as a three-star recruit, the No. 55 player in the state of Texas and the No. 76 wide receiver nationally.

In a written evaluation in Sept. 2018, 247Sports recruiting analyst Gabe Brooks described Polk as a “taller, long, lean receiver prospect with (a) somewhat narrow core but frame space to continue adding good bulk. Fierce competitor. Shows consistent quickness off the line to get on top of DBs quickly. Effective in short, intermediate, and vertical passing games. Generally a hands catcher. Consistent in his get-open ability. Adequate to above average top-end speed with impressive short-area mobility, especially for a taller wideout. Sneaky fast in the open field after the catch. High ceiling as a route-runner. Height and leaping ability (35-inch vertical) provide reliable red-zone target and 50-50 ball-winner. Eagerly challenges DBs in those situations. Shows encouraging body control and adjustment ability.

“Needs to add bulk and strength. Can do a better job of leveraging DBs into breaks. Ball security can improve. One of the top receivers in Texas for his class with all-conference potential at the (Power Five) level and long-term NFL Draft ceiling.”

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Polk appears to have the physical profile to perform on the Pac-12 level.

But, according to Machado, what separates the sophomore receiver is everything else.

“Man, probably the reason why I’m so close to him is because he’s been the most locked in kid I’ve ever trained. He just got it,” said Machado, who added that he trusts Polk so much he gave him a key to his house. “Most kids, they want to party. They get to drinking. They get to smoking. They get to hanging out all the time. A lot of kids, I have to beg them to come train. I have to stay on them. Him? Nah. After school he’d be at my house. When I’d get off work he’d be right there. He’d be blowing my phone up every day. If I couldn’t train he’d be calling my phone. ‘Why aren’t we training? Let’s train. Where are you at? What are you doing?’

“He got it at such a young age. In high school he was like that. He’d be lifting weights when no one else was lifting weights. He’d be on the younger guys when they were goofing around at practice. Since he was in high school he said, ‘I’m going to go to the NFL. I’m going to take care of my momma.’ He wants to buy his mom a house.”

If he takes enough slants to the house with the Huskies, Polk will be able to buy one before too long.