5-Star Recruit Marlon Tuipulotu Commits to USC, Shuns University Of Washington

5-Star Recruit Defensive Tackle Marlon Tuipulotu Commits to USC, Shuns University of Washington

University of Washington Huskies Recruiting class of 2017 is a solid class. In fact, it was rated the second best class in the PAC-12 by USA Today. But the efforts to bring talent to the school doesn’t always result in a commitment. Sometimes the talent committed to UW is lost in the recruiting efforts of other schools.

And that is disappointing.

5-Star Recruit Marlon Tuipulotu from Independance, Oregon out of Central High School stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs in at 295 pounds, was wooed by a number of schools- 13 to be exact. But he had committed to the University of Washington on April 16, 2016, and he was firm in that commitment.

Until recently.

Visit Meant Trouble

You see the defensive tackle, and his 83 grade by ESPN, visited the University of Southern California on January 20, 2017.   A visit this late in the game is always a sign of trouble, and the fact that he was visiting the top recruiter in the PAC-12 spelled serious trouble.

The visit came, and went.  In the absence of news, there was much debate and consternation.  But where the debate can now end, the hopes of seeing this young man at UW has ended as well.

This is a serious blow to the Washington Husky Recruiting class.  That may have precipitated the Husky response to make a push for Jaxson Kirkland on the same day.

The exodus of Tuipulotu shifts the priorities of this draft class to defensive tackle.

Tuipulotu Was Highly Regarded

Tuipulotu was a highly regarded defensive lineman. His performance at the Army Bowl got the attention of national scouts, who immediately elevated his ranking, some by as many as 126 places in their top 250.

He will join the USC 2017 recruits, a class loaded with talent.  He will be accompanied on the defensive line with 6-foot-4  232 pound defensive end Hunter Echols, 6-foot-5 236 pound defensive end Jacob Lichtenstein, and 6-foot-6 270 pound defensive tackle Terrance Lang.

While the USC class is impressive on paper, it’s likely that the team will move away from one or more before National Signing Day.

Next: 2017 Washington Husky Recruiting Class Tracker January 23rd

Unless one of the recruits plans to play off the bench for the majority of their college days.