Losing in frustrating fashion on the road against the Penn State Nittany Lions wasn’t the only bad thing that happened to Jedd Fisch’s Washington Huskies football team this weekend. Saturday afternoon, the Huskies lost a talented commitment to a Big Ten rival.
Four-star tight end Vander Ploog is one of the most talented athletes coming out of California in this recruiting class. And while he was set to be one of the most talented commitments for Jedd Fisch’s first full recruiting cycle in Seattle, he’s now set to head to Eugene, Oregon to play for Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks.
That’s not ideal!
Ploog weighs in at 6-foot-6 and 223 pounds and he’d previously been set to play for the Huskies for quite a few months. Ploog initially committed to Washington on June 25 and was seemingly on board with playing in Seattle. But, on November 10, Ploog chose to ditch UW in favor of the Ducks. And that’s not fun.
Washington Huskies lose commitment from talented 2025 4-star tight Vander Ploog to Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks
And again, this is just part of a poor weekend. The decommitment from UW and subsequent Oregon commitment come less than 24 hours after Washington lost 35-6 at Penn State. There’s no real indication if the game impacted Ploog’s decision making here, but it just feels like an insult to injury sort of situation for Washington Husky fans.
Still, UW isn’t in a bad spot for this recruiting class. The Huskies were previously holding on to the No. 18 recruiting class in the country. Now, Washington’s class sits at No. 19 nationally. Among other teams in the Big Ten, the Huskies have the No. 6 recruiting class in the conference.
So, not the end of the world, you know? It sucks, but it’s not going to be a deal breaker for this recruiting class. The worst part of this is losing the No. 16 tight end in this recruiting class to the Oregon Ducks. That’s the wrinkle here that really stings.