Washington Huskies Recruiting: UW Hosts Top Recruits vs. Arizona

The matchup Saturday between the Arizona Wildcats and the No. 16 Washington Huskies pits two undefeated teams against each other. It showcases the two best running backs in the Pac-12, and it gives the Huskies a chance to get off to their first 4-0 start since 2001. Yet, none of those is the reason this game and this weekend is huge for the Huskies.

Steve Sarkisian and the football program are playing host to three big-time recruits this weekend, one of who is on one of five official visits he has. Lorenzo Romar, meanwhile, won’t take a backseat to football. He and the basketball program are hosting four-star 2014 forward Zylan Cheatham (South Mountain HS/Phoenix, Ariz.) on an official visit.

The biggest surprise came Wednesday, when five-star 2014 running back Joe Mixon (Freedom HS/Oakley, Calif.) tweeted that he’ll be in Seattle this weekend, taking an official visit to the Washington-Arizona game. Local product and known Husky supporter Ryan Turman is Mixon’s friend and will reportedly be spending a good amount of time with him. The Huskies didn’t stop pursuing Mixon after he left them out of his top-five a month ago. In fact, Sarkisian and Co. stepped up their recruitment of the five-star running back.

The Huskies will also host two prospects on unofficial visits this weekend. Top local target Budda Baker (Bellevue HS/Bellevue Wash.) will be on hand for the game, as well as 2015 four-star offensive lineman Zach Okun (Newbury Park HS/Newbury Park, Calif.). Baker has begun to draw national attention, and is a top priority for the Huskies, wanting to put up a fence to keep the state’s top recruits in state.

Okun has drawn interest from elite programs all around the country, but only holds offers from a handful of Pac-12 schools and Kansas State. Baker has offers from Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford and many more.

It’s unlikely the Huskies get a verbal commitment from any prospect this weekend, but they rumored to be the one of the frontrunners for Cheatham. He has said he’s likely to make an announcement shortly after his final official visit – currently Oct. 11 at New Mexico – and sign a letter of intent in the early signing period, on his birthday, Nov. 17.