Washington Football Recruiting: Reuben Foster Picks Alabama

In a 7pm (PST) announcement on Fox Sports South that stretched out until 7:55pm, Reuben Foster announced his intention to sign on to play football at the University of Alabama. Though the Crimson Tide isn’t exactly hurting on the recruiting road, Foster is a big get by anyone’s standards: he is considered a five-star prospect by Rivals and Scout, and a four-star by ESPN, which awards far fewer five-star ratings. One thing all three services agree on: Foster is the number one inside linebacker prospect in the nation, and a top-20 player at any position.

Foster’s journey through the recruiting process has been something of a fiasco. He committed to Alabama early, but then flipped to arch-rival Auburn, going so far as to get an Auburn-themed tattoo on his right arm. But then Head Coach Gene Chizik was fired, along with his staff, and Foster reopened his recruitment. The story of his decommitment post-ink was big, national-type news, serving as an example of just how ridiculous recruiting has gotten.

Since then, it has commonly been believed that it would, in the end, come down to Auburn and Alabama, with Georgia as a third option. Foster visited Washington in early January, and was said to enjoy the visit a great deal, but Foster also has a young daughter, and the Huskies seemed to fade as a serious option due to the fact that Foster wanted to stay close by her. But then, earlier today, the final three options were announced as Alabama, Auburn, and Washington, igniting new hope within the Husky fan base that Washington was still a consideration.

Well, it turns out that he immediately began his announcement by saying that Georgia was actually the third, not Washington. Either way, this wasn’t a recruit that fans need to be too upset about missing out on, simply because it was never expected that he would end up in Seattle in the first place.

As always, thanks for reading. We will continue to cover all recruiting news concerning the Huskies tomorrow, and of course we will have up to date coverage on every single recruit that signs with Washington, and anyone who surprisingly doesn’t, on National Signing Day.