Washington football: Even more in-state talent for the Huskies
![SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 14: Hunter Bryant #1 of the Washington Huskies looks on against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the fourth quarter during their game at Husky Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 14: Hunter Bryant #1 of the Washington Huskies looks on against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the fourth quarter during their game at Husky Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/17b5a9d5a0f78c584c4d0883b9a101274074619c4f6e76c110c3540f57f18402.jpg)
After the initial 247 rankings dropped for the class of 2023, Washington football has three must-get targets in their backyard!
Budda Baker, Sav’ell Smalls, Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris. What do these guys all have in common? They were all ranked as the number one player in the state of Washington, who decided to sign out of high school with Washington football.
Only time will tell if the Huskies can make that happen in 2021 with J.T. Tuimoloau and Emeka Egbuka and keep the trend going. They seem to be in a good spot with 2022’s top in-state prospect, Josh Conerly, and it’s never too early to start thinking about the class of 2023.
Washington just extended their first in-state offer for the class by extending a scholarship to Lincoln’s Jayden Wayne. Right now, Wayne is rated as the 16th best player in the country, and second-best athlete. The Huskies were a little late to the party on the local prospect, who had already received offers from Tennessee, Cal, Arizona State, Oregon, and USC. The Huskies are currently recruiting him on both sides of the ball, at tight end and EDGE, and his 6’5, 224-pound frame projects out very well at both positions.
While the coaching staff has extended a few out of state offers, the next wave will probably end up coming to in-state talent. Two other players from the state of Washington made it into 247’s top 100, the next one on the list being Wayne’s teammate at Lincoln, dual-threat quarterback Gabarri Johnson. Johnson currently holds two Division 1 offers to Florida Atlantic and Washington State, and that number should see a drastic increase rather soon. He’s currently ranked 88th in the country, and if all goes well for the Huskies, he could be the successor to five-star commit Sam Huard.
The last player from the state who made the cut in the initial rankings is Spanaway Lake’s Jasiah Wagoner. Coming in at 96th in the nation, Wagoner also holds two Division 1 offers, to UNLV and Oregon. A Husky offer is probably coming soon for the elite cornerback, and with Jimmy Lake’s reputation at the position, Washington could be very hard to turn down for the hometown hero.