The Year of Offensive Line Recruits

This year is the year for any football program to pick up their future starting offensive linemen. The class is full of not just quality lineman but of exceptional lineman. And while last year, was a down year for getting those guys to build an offense around, this year is shaping up to be that year that you can recruit a class of lineman that can carry you to a championship.

The University of Washington is no exception to that as they will be looking to build up a solid offensive line core in the next few years. To make that happen the Huskies could certainly use a few offensive lineman in this year’s recruiting class especially considering they were only able to land one lineman last year.

Coach Sark does not have to look far, as there are 5 in-state targets that are exceptional. Let’s take a look at each of them:

Josh Garnett: At 6’5″ and 280 pounds, Garnett is considered by many as the best guard in the entire country but also has the potential to play on the outside. Garnett is in his senior year at Puyallup High School. He has offers from all over the country and even from the national champs at Auburn. Washington is also in the mix hoping to land this highly touted offensive lineman.

Zach Banner: At 6’9 and 295 pounds, Banner is listed as one of the top 10-15 tackles in the country and is more exciting because of his huge size and strength. Banner is more raw than most 4-star tackles coming off their senior year but he has more potential. Banner plays at Lakes High School in Lakewood.

Jake Eldrenkamp: At 6’5 and 300 pounds, Eldrenkamp has the ability to grow into a top-tier lineman and while he is suited best at guard he could learn to play outside or inside. He may only be listed as a 3-star by many recruiting services, Brandon Huffman of Scout.com, likes him a lot and says that he is easily the third best lineman in the state behind Garnett and Banner. It also says something when 10 of 12 schools in the Pac-12 are wanting his services. Eldrenkamp plays at Bellevue High School.

Walker Williams: At 6’7 and 320 pounds, Williams is highly sought after because of his size. He is just a monster of a high schooler. He can be an amazing offensive lineman at the college level but is still raw and needs to prove his ability against more notable opponents. It is one of the downsides of going to a smaller private school at Tacoma Baptist, however, his size/strength combo should translate anywhere.

Nathan Dean: At 6’5 and 270 pounds, Dean is also best fit on the inside at the guard position. He is rated as a 3-star guard and has offers from most of the Pac-12 and a few other schools like Idaho, Notre Dame, and Illinois. He plays for Juanita High School in Kirkland.

UW is also involved with many out of state linemen and they really seem to be looking to take advantage of the exceptional recruiting class of offensive lineman around the country and specifically in-state. This could be the year that UW is able to shore up a recruiting class full of future starting line-man and thus begin to build a running game around them.