Football Recruiting: Jermaine Kelly Signs LOI With Washington
The University of Washington has received a letter of intent from Jermaine Kelly of Salesian High School in Los Angeles, California. This was expected, as Kelly has been very solid to Washington since his fairly late commitment on the 7th of January, 2013, despite yesterday’s last second offer from hometown USC, desperate to refill the spots vacated by several late decommits.
Kelly is capable of playing either cornerback or wide receiver, but he was recruited by Washington as a corner, which makes his 6’2” 185-pound body extremely impressive. Alongside the 6’3” Kevin King, another cornerback commit in Washington’s Class of 2013, and the late addition of the 6’1″ Patrick Enewally, the three indicate Coach Sarkisian and Coach Wilcox’s preference for tall corners, something that lots of coaches talk about but few are able to successfully recruit for.
Certainly the most highly-touted of the ’13 defensive backs signing with Washington, Kelly is considered a four-star prospect and a top-20 corner nationally by both Scout and Rivals. ESPN gives him three stars, but they also list him as a wide receiver, so their rating really isn’t all that relevant.
Kelly will certainly factor into cornerback competition in the offseason. With one starting spot vacated by the graduation of Desmond Trufant and the other spot held at different times by two different players, Tre Watson and Marcus Peters, there is really nothing guaranteed for anyone at the position, and a guy with the size and talent of Jermaine Kelly has a chance to fight for a starting spot, or at least for some playing time as the third or fourth guy.