Washington football’s top out of state targets for 2022

While recruiting in state is the top priority for Washington football’s 2022 class, you can’t make a class out of one state. They need to add top talent from the western region if they want to continue to compete at the national level. During the 2019 cycle, the coaching staff was to able to secure commitments from top out-of-state talents like Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, Myles Murao, and more.

In total, over the 2019 and 2020 recruiting classes, the Husky coaching staff pulled in 22 four-star recruits from California, Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. We’ve already seen McMillan and Odunze, along with big names from the 2019 circuit like Trent McDuffie, Puka Nacua, and Faatui Tuitele make an impact early in their careers. In order to sustain the success that the team showed they can achieve during the pandemic shortened season, Jimmy Lake and the rest of his staff need to continue to put together top-flight recruiting classes.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the top targets for the class of 2022!

C.J. Williams- WR, Mater Dei (Calif.)

One of the top wide receivers in the country, if wide receivers coach Junior Adams is able to secure a commitment from Williams, it would be very similar to when he was able to get McMillan to commit two years ago.

Currently ranked as the fourth overall receiver in the country, Williams is a do it all prospect. He’s big, physical, has strong hands, and can line up all over the field. And while he might play at USC pipeline Mater Dei, after landing Murao out of the same high school during the 2020 cycle, it might not be a pipe dream anymore. Williams also took a trip to Seattle in January, and visited campus while playing 7on7 football with Ford Sports Performance.

Washington is likely to take three receivers in this cycle, and getting Williams to go with Germie Bernard and Tobias Merriweather would be an excellent go around for Adams.

Nate Burrell- DE, St. John Bosco (Calif.)

Every class needs a premier edge rusher, and Burrell has the ability to be that guy in the class of 2022. The Huskies have multiple high impact players from Burrell’s high school on the roster right now, like Sean McGrew, Terrell Bynum, and McDuffie, and Burrell could be next to join his Bosco brethren on Montlake.

Burrell is one of the top pass rushers in the country, and would be a perfect fit in the Husky defense. He’s powerful, quick off the ball, and can beat tackles with both speed and power. His pass rush moves are still rather raw, but he has the potential to be one of the best edge players in the country. Washington will probably only end up taking one other edge in this class to go with Anthony Jones. Burrell should be the primary option to take that spot.

Trejon Williams- S, Jefferson (Oregon)

Jimmy Lake has arguably the best pedigree of any defensive backs coach in the country. So the team should be able to recruit three or four highly-rated defensive backs every year. Along with Zion Branch, Williams should be of the highest priority at safety.

An athletic, downhill player, Williams would be a great fit in Budda Baker’s role at safety where he’s allowed to roam freely and do what he wants. He can do a little bit of everything, whether it be play nickel, help over the top in coverage, or come down into the box for run support. Lake’s defense not only allows him that freedom to use his athleticism to his advantage, but Washington can sell him on their long line of defensive backs in the NFL.

Getting all three of these guys in the boat is crucial to the success of this class. With the players within reach, the Huskies can finish with a top 15 class nationally if a couple of things fall the right way.