Jedd Fisch's Arizona pipeline has UW on the verge of a 5-star recruiting win

Jedd Fisch has been head coach of the Washington Huskies football program for two full seasons, but he’s still reaping the rewards of investments which he made during his previous tenure at the University of Arizona. Now, his growing Arizona recruiting pipeline could be what brings top-rated edge-rusher Jalanie George to Washington.

George, who stands an impressive 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds after just two years of high school football, is ranked by On3’s Rivals as the class of 2028’s No.1 edge rusher and No. 2 overall talent. He’s described by 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins as a “productive front-line defender” whose ability to “hound QBs with length and burst” give him “all-conference and NFL upside.”

George’s elite ranking has earned him offers from schools like Ohio State, Oregon, and Miami, but it’s Fisch and Washington who are leading the pack of schools pursuing the edge rusher’s commitment.

Jedd Fisch’s Arizona pipeline is only getting bigger, and Jalanie George proves it

During the three seasons he spent coaching the Arizona Wildcats, Fisch made local recruiting a priority. Just days after being hired in Dec. 2020, he spoke about the need to capitalize on the talent coming out of the Grand Canyon State.

“We need to make sure that we have to do a better job in the state (of Arizona), first and foremost,” Fisch said before listing prominent Arizonan talents (and current NFL teammates) like Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough. “There’s too many Arizona guys that are slipping out.”

To address that issue, Fisch focused on building relationships with prominent high school football programs in the state. And although more than two years have passed since he left Tucson for Seattle in Jan. 2024, the connections he established in Arizona have continued to pay off. 

This year’s team has Arizona in its blood. Starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. followed Fisch from Chandler, Ariz. to Washington as an incoming freshman, and his most productive returning receiver, Dezmen Roebuck, made a major impression in Year 1 after joining the Huskies from Marana. On the other side of the ball, starting safeties Alex McLaughlin and Rylon Dillard-Allen hail from Chandler and Phoenix, respectively.

There will be plenty of Arizonans making plays for the Huskies this year, but even more contributors are set to come north. According to 247Sports, Fisch and company have landed commitments from five of the state’s top 15 recruits from the class of 2027. Notably, two of those recruits, four-star quarterback Blake Roskopf and three-star receiver Zerek Sidney, are current teammates of George’s at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Ariz.

All three Desert Edge Scorpions were in attendance at Washington’s Junior Day in early March, where an already-committed Sidney reportedly acted as an amateur collegiate recruiter in order to bring others to Montlake. It’s unknown how impactful Sidney’s personal efforts were on George, but the edge rusher seems to have been impressed by what he saw in Seattle.

Now, five months after hosting him on campus, Fisch’s staff has received a pair of official predictions to land a commitment from George. 

The predictions, which came on Thursday from Rivals insiders Brandon Huffman and Steve Wiltfong, both came in at a 60% confidence interval, but that’s a mark worth celebrating for Husky fans. Huffman has been correct on more than 98% (99/101) of his predictions, while more than 92% (1,329/1,443) of Wiltfong’s forecasts have been accurate. Rivals currently gives George a 94.8% chance of landing with the Huskies.

None of those predictions come with a commitment date, but George could potentially make his decision soon. Players who’ve been predicted (or crystal-balled) don’t usually stay uncommitted for more than a month or so, and it’s been almost three months since George named the Huskies as one of the final six schools he was considering.

The Huskies don’t yet have a commitment from the class of 2028, but landing George in August of 2026 would be an excellent start to next year’s recruiting efforts.

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