Washington football is in need of a major culture change, and getting the hometown hero can be that culture changer, and alter the entire course of the program
If you live in the Seattle area, like high school football at all, or are a Washington football fan, you know about Sav’ell Smalls. Ranked second in the country by 247’s recruit ratings and fourth by their composite in the 2020 class. He’s the highest rated recruit to come out of the state of Washington since Foster Sarell in 2017, who was also rated as high as second in the country.
Smalls is an incredible player who happens to fit perfectly into Washington’s scheme as an outside linebacker, who is adept at getting after the passer, recording 21 tackles for loss and seven sacks while playing in only five games during his junior season. He also is an incredible athlete, who was able to pile up 33 catches for 673 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver.
The Trend Setter
UW has done an excellent job recruiting the players that they need to fit their system, but as great as that has been over the last few seasons, it isn’t enough to push them over the edge against schools like Alabama, Penn State and Ohio State, like we’ve seen in the bowl games over the last three seasons. Smalls is that type of player, and if he commits to UW, he wouldn’t have to do it alone.
Washington is currently in the mix for four five-star players in the 2020 class, including Smalls. If Smalls commits to UW, there’s a legitimate chance that they could land all four. The other prospects are cornerback Kelee Ringo out of Byron Murphy‘s alma mater, Saguaro (Ariz.) High in Scottsdale. Johnny Wilson, a wide receiver from Calabasas (Calif.) High. The biggest long shot of the group, but someone that might gravitate towards the talent of the other three is running back Zachary Evans out of North Shore (Texas) in Houston.
https://twitter.com/SavvySmalls_9/status/1091583543015178240
Those are just the five-star players, and it doesn’t include a lot of the in-state talent that gravitated towards Smalls during his unofficial visit to Washington last weekend. There are other immensely talented players from the state of Washington like Geirean Hatchett, Sam Adams, and Ayden Hector, who all took the unofficial visit with Smalls.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZ32O-hLp5/
There’s a ton of talent in 2020, but 2021 is on a different level when it comes to in-state recruits. The Huskies already secured a commitment from five-star quarterback Sam Huard, but he’s just the tip of the iceberg. Two other players who took the unofficial with Smalls are in-state five-stars Emeka Egbuka, and the number one player in the country, JT Tuimoloau. Washington is a football hotbed for 2021, as they have five players inside the top 50 recruit rankings. Julien Simon and Will Latu round out the top five players in the state, and are ranked 45th and 46th by 247 Sports in the 2021 class.
If Smalls were to commit to UW, there’s no doubt some of these guys would follow suit, as Huard stated he committed so early to try and sway some of the other guys in his class to come with him.
PURPLE REIGN☔️ pic.twitter.com/s7r1gszAdI
— Emeka Egbuka (@emeka_egbuka) February 4, 2019
None of this can happen without Smalls. He’s the trendsetter, he’s the type of player that can change the direction of this program. He can influence all the players that I just mentioned to follow in his footsteps, and bring the Huskies their first championship since 1991.
https://twitter.com/HuskyHaul/status/1090843439653179398
"“Heroes get remembered, legends never die.”"
If all of these things fall into place, the name Sav’ell Smalls would live on forever in the city of Seattle.