Projected Washington Husky Recruiting Class of 2017 Signing Day

After a very successful 2016, the Washington Husky recruiting class must retool the football program for the 2017 football season. This is where the team stands:

The Washington Huskies had a great season in 2016, a season that fell short of the mark of a national championship. However, the team made it to the NCAA playoffs, a feat only four teams in the nation can claim.

Now, unfinished business must be handed off to the 2017 football program. A college football program is only as effective as the players recruited to the team. Since UW football is no exception, the February 1st Signing Day becomes very important to the Huskies.

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Signing Day

The fact is, that Signing Day is important to virtually every NCAA football program in the nation. That makes it a very competitive business to entice the right player to the right program. With less than a week remaining, the pressure to deliver quality talent is nearly unbearable.  Programs are talking to everyone.

But it’s not just signing anyone. With graduation, and declaring for the NFL, the Washington Huskies will be losing some key players this season. Let’s take a look at the players who will be hanging up their Huskies cleats:

Huskies Packing For Farewells

These are the players who have either declared for the NFL Draft or are graduating and are no long eligible for NCAA football:

With the First Pick

OFFENSE

• WR John Ross III (Jr.)
• TE: Darrell Daniels
• Holder: Jeff Lindquist (QB)
• OT: Jake Eldrenkamp and OL Shane Brostek

DEFENSE

• DL: Damion Turpin and Elijah Qualls (Jr.)
• OLB: Joe Mathis and Psalm Wooching
• S: Brandon Beaver and Buddy Baker (Jr.)
• CB: Kevin King and Sidney Jones (Jr.)
• K: Cameron Van Winkle

While every class is a challenge to replace, the exodus of WR Ross, DL Qualls, S Baker, and CB Jones are particularly difficult, both from the quality of their play and the fact that they had another season of NCAA eligibility.

That’s a solid group of players.  Now lets take a look at the holes that they leave behind.

Team Needs

If you see where the team lost players, it’s a pretty safe bet that those will be the areas of geatest needs.

But there are some areas that take priority.  Say, a kicker for example?  Rather than force you to wait this one out, I want to put your mind at ease and let you know that the Huskies have their kicker for 2017.

Also, there was concern that  6-foot-5 302 pound defensive lineman Vita Vae might be tempted to try his fotunes in the NFL Draft, but he has committed to UW for 2017. So what does the team need?

So in setting team needs, the first step is to break it down by position

Team Needs By Position

Ole Hotty Toddy

Low Priority

• Special Teams(1)
• Running Back (1)
• Quarterback (1)

Moderate Priority

• Outside Linebacker (1)
• Defensive Linemen (2)
• Tight End (3)

High Priority

• Wide Receiver (3)
• Offensive Linemen (2)
• Safety (1)
• Cornerback (2)

The Huskies competed for the national championship this past season, and despite losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide, they earned national respect as a true competitor.  Wise head coaches make ample use of that popularity growth to entice top prospects to join the program. Now lets list the top ten needs of the team.

Low Priority

Low priority needs on the team is not the same as not a priority. In fact, low priority simply conveys that the team is focusing on players with critical skillsets which are very valuable and in low supply on the roster.

In other words, low priority are critical skillsets where the supply of players is adequate for the team’s immediate needs.  These are important areas to address on the team routinely, because  the best programs continue to have younger players in the queue to assume starting roles after a player moves on or is stricken with injury.

10, 9, 8

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10 Special Teams
The Washington Huskies lost a kicker in Cameron Van Winkle ,and his career 81.25 percent accuracy.  As his replacement, the team is bringing in Joel Whitford.

9 Running Back
While the Huskies running back are intact from the 2016 season, there is always a need to place some fresh legs into the corral. And Salvon Ahmed is one of the Huskies highest rated recruits, earning a 4-star 83 point grade from ESPN. He was sought by 13 different schools.

8 Quarterback
The Huskies quarterback situation is good. But like running back, it’s always wise to add talent to the quarterback position. The team have four, but will likely take on a fifth in Jake Haener. Haener is a 3 star 77 points rating who was recruited by 10 schools. He will likely spend his first season learning the offense and training for the future to compete for the starting role.

Moderate Priority

Moderate Priority is a little trickier. While low priority is that area where the team has adequate starters already on the roster, moderate priority signings are those players who must be brought in to compete for a starting role.

Typically, moderate priority happens for one of two reasons:

Two  types

I  The starter was so good, that the team needs to offer competition to ensure the team will benefit from the best player on the roster for starting minutes.

II The position handles multiple  starting positions on the roster, and therefor the team needs a larger stock to address potential injuries, lower than expected performance, and even players who sign on with other programs.

The Huskies have three areas of moderate priority.

Moderate Needs

7 Outside Linebacker
The Huskies will be without either Joe Mathis or Psalm Wooching. The Huskies did without the play of Mathis in 2016, as he was out due to injury. To fill the void of starter Wooching, the team is bringing in Ariel Ngata.  The team may also be considering promoting Travis Bartlett to starter and sliding in Ngata in a backup role.

DL

6 Defensive Linemen
With 6-foot-1 321 pound defensive tackle Elijah Qualls electing the 2017 NFL Draft, the Huskies need to replace his production.  They will be hard pressed to find it instantly, but the team does have  3-star 79 point graded Joe Tryon, a 6-foot-4 235 pound defensive end coming in 2017. Tryon is listed as a defensive end, but he is a pass rushing specialist who may take the three point stance or stand up in more of an outside linebacker role. With the election of defensive end Vita Vea  remaining for another season, the defensive line should be strong once more.

Tryon has been reportedly targeted as a linebacker prospect by Lars Hanson of TheDawgReport

The team needed a true defensive lineman, and nailed it when 3-star defensive lineman Ali Gaye committed on January 23, 2017.

When is a tight end not a tight end?

5 Tight End

The Huskies lose starting tight end Darrelle Daniels, but land a trio of new prospects.  The team will welcome grey-shirted 3-star tight end Jacob Kizer, 4-star 83 point graded Hunter Bryant, and 3-star 77 point graded Cade Otton.  Why So many?
That’s because Otton has been reportedly recruited as an open-ended athlete – giving him the opportunity to compete as a linebacker, tight end, or a “buck-hybrid position“. The buck is that stand up pass rushing specialist.  The same is true for for Kizer.

So in the end, the team will likely slot Bryant into the traditional tight end position.  Both Kizer and Otton will end up as athletes competing for their roles on the team.

High Priority

4 Wide Receiver (3)
As you know, wide Receiver John Ross III stood out as a true offensive weapon for the Huskies. He’ll likely land as a first round selection.  So the question is, how do the Washington Huskies find that one person to replace him?

You get a commitment from one of the hottest wide receivers in the nation.

And then you secure a commitment from one more of the hottest wide receivers in the nation.

Three Is The Charm

Well,three is a charm, isn’t it?

Wide receiver was most, for all intents and purposes, one of the highest priorities of this recruitment. With this class, the Huskies have to feel comfortable.  All three have been heavily recruited nationally, and their interest in UW’s program speaks volumes of how far the Huskies have taken their reputation.

Top Three

3 Offensive Linemen (2)

As a matter of fact, offensive linemen are always a top priority, and the loss of starting offensive tackle Jake Eldenkramp has simply placed the exclamation point on it this year.   The Huskies have gotten commitments from 3-star 73 graded offensive tackle Cole Norgaard, as well as 4-star 82 graded offensive tackle Henry Bainivalu.

And so, that leaves The Huskies one shy of their target, with two weeks or so to go. With nine returning from last season, plus two recruits, the team will have a starter and backup for all positions plus one.  Don’t be surprised to see the team land another OL recruit before signing day.

Defensive Backs

2 Safety (1)

The role of safety continues to evolve, and Budda Baker will lead that evolution in the NFL next season.  Unfortunately, that means that the Huskies must somehow fill the void vacated by Baker with a new starter.

The team has managed to fill that void with 4-star 80 graded safety Brandon McKinney.

1 Cornerback (2)

Cornerbacks seem to hold the keys to success. In a passing offense, the defense must either sack the quarterback, or defend the pass.  Wise teams do both.  Husky cornerback Sidney Jones was the type of cornerback who kept his defensive coordinator sleeping peacefully at night.

Stars In The West

Now the quality of sleep will fall upon  4-star 81 graded cornerback Elijah Molden, and 3-star 78 graded cornerback Keith Taylor.   In both prospects, the Huskies have young men who have great natural pass defense instincts, good range, and excellent speed and agility.

SUMMARY

So where does that leave the team?  Glad you asked. I’ve summarized the projected gains below. To help follow where the roster has lost a significant contributor, I’ve included them at their respective positions.

10 Special Teams  – 3-star kicker Joel Whitford (lost Cameron Van Winkle)
9 Running Back – 4-star running back Salvon Ahmed
8 Quarterback – 3-star pocket passer quarterback Jake Haener
7 Outside Linebacker – 3-star outside lineback Ariel Ngata. Team may try either 3-star TE Cade Otton or gray-shirted 3-star Jacob Kizer in OLB “Buck” role. (lost Psalm Wooching and Joe Mathis)
6 Defensive Linemen  3-star defensive end Joe Tryon and 3-star defensive lineman Ali Gaye (lost Elijah Qualls)
5 Tight End 4-star tight end Hunter Bryant, 3-star tight end Cade Otton 3-star tight end Jacob Kizer (see Outside Linebacker) (lost Darrelle Daniels)
4 Wide Receiver 4-star wide receiver Terrell Bynum, 3-star wide receiver Alex Cook, 3-star wide receiver Ty Jones (lost John Ross III)
3 Offensive Linemen 4-star offensive tackle Henry Bainavalu and 3-star offensive tackle Cole Norgaard
2 Safety 4-star safety Brandon McKinney (lost Budda Baker)
1 Cornerback 4-star cornerback Elijah Molden and 3-star cornerback Keith Taylor (lost Sidney Jones)

When you see it summarized, the projected class of 2017 is a very diverse and talented group.

Next: Washington Husky’s National Signing Day Schedule and TV Announcement Times

National Signing Day is February 1st, 2017.  While the Huskies have some big shoes to fill from the players declaring or graduating, this class is both diverse and talented. It should be a good year for the fans, and the team. #GoDawgs