Fans of Husky, happy Sunday. There are still a number of recruiting targets available, and the Huskies’ class presently has 24 commits. With the scholarship cap raised to 105, it appears that the class will ultimately have close to 30 commits. Over the coming days, weeks, and months, bear the following prospects in mind:

This past week, Katy Jordan High School in Texas, home of four-star wide receiver Andrew Marsh, spent a few days in town socializing with the coaching staff (on an unofficial basis). Texas, Michigan, and USC are competing with the Huskies for a commit from Marsh, who will decide on August 20. Marsh is an explosive wide receiver that can score from anywhere on the field, ranking as the 10th best wide receiver in the 2025 class. Marsh is an outside receiver who the Huskies would love to add to their current class of receivers, which includes Raiden Vines-Bright, Chris Lawson, Deji Ajose, and Dezmon Roebuck. Marsh is listed at 6’1″ and about 175 pounds.

Four-star security Additionally, Ladarian Clardy from Escambia High School in Florida came to town for the Huskies’ Luau on the Lake last weekend. The Huskies are competing with Ole Miss, Florida State, Miami, and UCF for the commitment of this player, who is ranked as the 15th best safety in the nation. Clardy had intended to commit on August 3, but he postponed it indefinitely (seeming to be torn between Ole Miss and UW). It would be fascinating to see whether the Huskies are still able to entice him after his commitment was postponed. Rylon Dillard-Allen has already committed to the Huskies, and they would love to match him with Clardy in the 2025 class. Both players are outstanding safety with great field vision.

Three-star offensive tackle Zack Stascausky of Central Catholic High School in Oregon recently announced his decommitment from Minnesota following an unofficial visit and offer from the Huskies. With his 6’6″ and 275 weight, Stascausky, who is ranked as the 74th best offensive lineman in the nation, appears to be a future mainstay at tackle in college. Stascausky, who has offers from UCLA, WSU, Cal, Arizona, Oregon State, and Minnesota, seems to be leaning toward the Huskies. The Huskies are targeting a class of four or five recruits, with three offensive linemen already committed.

Manamo’ui Muti, a three-star offensive lineman from Leilehua High School in Hawaii, also made an unofficial visit last weekend. Muti appears to be a future offensive lineman, and UCLA, UW, Cal, and Arizona are all strongly recruiting him. Muti is a gigantic offensive lineman who would be a terrific addition to the Husky class. He is listed at 6’7″ and weighs about 320 pounds, yet he has the ability to play left tackle as well.

Although there are more players who will become available for recruitment due to de-commitments in the autumn, the Husky staff will undoubtedly continue to work hard to attract a class of 2025 that ranks in the top 15-20.

Washington’s Position in the Hiring Chain.

It’s a bit of a fool’s errand to try to gauge recruitment performance based only on offers. There isn’t a structure in place for accountability to confirm an offer. There are tales from recruiting services of colleges phoning or contacting an outlet to claim, “We didn’t really offer that kid.” Coaches, however, are prohibited from speaking in public. Furthermore, there is no way to confirm that an offer is still in effect one, three, or six months after it was made, even if they had said, “We’re offering you a scholarship.”

Because of this, even if using legitimate visitors reduces your sample sizes, it is a little more dependable strategy. When it comes to paying for a prospect’s meals and accommodations while in town, teams must make good on their promises. This includes flying the prospect and their family into town. The larger the school, the more probable it is that they will accept someone on an OV whom they do not particularly want. However, if a player schedules an official visit, it usually indicates that the school views them as at most a strong backup option.

This cycle, Washington brought in forty-three players on an official visit; of those, twenty-two have committed to the Huskies, and there may be room for a few more. Since each of those players made an average of 3.3 official visits during the spring and summer, most of them had a good idea of who the other teams the Huskies faced in the competition for their commitments.Looking at the schools Washington was up against for OVs and how well each school converted for those prospects is a great way to gauge how effectively the state is recruiting.

For each school, I created a small formula that essentially illustrates how much better or worse UW performed than the other institution in obtaining a commitment from those mutual prospects. It doesn’t matter for either team if neither school received a commitment.

Eight schools shared at least four prospects on OVs with Washington this year. To help the Huskies understand where UW stands in relation to their main rivals, they are ranked here from best to worst (higher numbers are better, while zero is about average).

60.0% for Arizona State (5 prospects: 3 to UW, 0 to ASU)
Players in common: TE Vander Ploog, TE Smith Orogbo, LB; Baron Naone, S. Rylon Dillard-Allen, ED Cyrus Polu

This season, Arizona State and the Huskies engaged in fierce battle for tight end help. ASU closed up AJ Ia early, while both Vander Ploog and Baron Naone paid visits to Tempe. As a result, three significant targets were ultimately split between the two universities. Ia ultimately chose to commit to Washington before traveling to Seattle because the Huskies ultimately recruited Ploog and Naone, two players ranked higher in the 247 rankings.

Rylon Dillard-Allen, a four-star safety and native of Arizona, committed to his home state of ASU early this spring before he could make an official visit to Seattle, which made Washington less than thrilled. RDA, however, continued to be recruited by the Huskies and other colleges, and in the end, he decided to decommit, made many trips, and chose the Huskies over SEC schools like Texas A&M and Alabama. Both universities lost out on LB Cyrus Polu (Utah) and four-star edge rusher Smith Orogbo (Texas).

California: 57.1 percent Seven prospects—one to Cal, five to UW—

Players with mutual involvement: TE Baron Naone, TE Devin Hyde, WR Chris Lawson, TE Vander Ploog, WR Deji Ajose, S Aiden Manutai, OL John Mills

For a while, it appeared as though the Huskies would win handily. The only player in this group, Aiden Manutai, a safety from Hawaii, committed to Cal. After Manutai’s latest visit, Washington appeared to be leading the pack for him, but they also managed to sign Rylon Dillard-Allen and are leading the pack for Ladarian Clardy, both of whom are ranked higher than Manutai. Long-term, he might be a fantastic addition for the Bears, but the Huskies need to accept that they lost out on his pledge.

OL John Mills, who ultimately committed to Texas, was the only athlete to avoid both institutions. Later on, we’ll talk about the Longhorns, but right now, it’s okay to lose out on their recruiting class.

The fact that Washington entered Cal’s territory for the majority of these promises just serves to exacerbate the harm. Three players from the wider Bay Area, Devin Hyde (Menlo Park), Deji Ajose (Oakland), and Chris Lawson (San Francisco), committed to the Huskies. The other two were Southern Californian Vander Ploog and Baron Naone, who resides primarily in the Oregon region between the two colleges. Whatever the situation, Washington gave Cal the silent treatment when they faced off.