The Husky Haul
Fansided

Washington football fans… what now?

By Roman Tomashoff

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen during the first half in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen during the first half in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Washington football is out of the running for local five-star linebacker Sav’ell Smalls, so what do the Huskies do now?

Believe it or not, it’s not all doom and gloom for UW football, even after Kennedy Catholic (WA.) linebacker Sav’ell Smalls said in a 247 Sports article from national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman that he won’t be considering UW anymore because he wants to get away from home.

“I’ll always have love for Washington, for Coach Pete (Chris Petersen), Coach Ikaika (Malloe), Coach PK (Pete Kwiatkowski), Coach (Jimmy) Lake,” said Smalls.  “It’s not anything about them at all. I want to find the best fit for me. I want to find the best program to not only get me out in three years with a degree, but to also challenge me as a person so I’m able to become a better man. I started to think that the best step for me would be to do that away from home,” Smalls said to Huffman.

The curious thing about this is this news comes about two weeks after Smalls took an unofficial visit to Oregon for their spring game, and after, rumors began to swirl all over Twitter that there were Oregon players in his ear calling Washington’s OKG mentality “elitist,” among other things. But this article isn’t about spreading rumors that may or may not be true, this article is about what’s next for the Huskies on the recruiting trail.

This Class Is LOADED

The Smalls news definitely hurts, and while five-star corner Kelee Ringo also seems to be cooling on UW (things can still change, come on! Let’s look on the bright side!!) there are tons of other talented players that Washington football is heavily in the mix for. One of them is four-star running back Sam Adams II who is one of the most talented players in the nation, and the touchdown machine is in the Huskies’ backyard at Eastside Catholic (WA.) in Sammamish. Yes, I understand what happened with Smalls, but the Huskies seem to have made a very strong impression on Adams. His teammate, four-star defensive back Ayden Hector could also be the next in the long line of elite Husky DB’s coached by Jimmy Lake. Wrapping up the in-state talent, the Huskies also seem to be pretty close to a lock for one of the best interior offensive linemen in the country, Geirean Hatchett.

Success in California is vital to the Huskies’ title contention, and there are some studs that are very high on Washington. That includes five-star receiver Johnny Wilson out of Calabasas (CA.) who has the Huskies in his top 5. Four-star receiver and top 50 prospect Jalen McMillan is also very high on the Huskies. Another elite interior offensive lineman, Myles Murao, seems to be very interested in Washington as well. Lastly, the Huskies can make a strong impression on another top 50 prospect, running back Daniyel Ngata, whose brother, Ariel Ngata currently plays linebacker for the Huskies.

This Smalls situation is an odd one, but one that the Huskies need to learn from. They can’t let this elite in-state talent get away if they want to compete for a national championship, especially if we start looking forward to the class of 2021, where the state of Washington has four five-star prospects, including current Husky commit Sam Huard, and the number one player in the country J.T. Tuimoloau.

The sky isn’t falling Husky nation. Is this a big blow? Absolutely, but there’s still a lot of promise for this Husky team.

Home/Football Recruiting