Jedd Fisch, more than once, has said he wanted to make the 2025 University of Washington football recruiting class the best in school history.
Yet cutting through the hyperbole as this player procurement cycle peaks with the high-traffic month of June coming to an end can be difficult because random numbers are assigned to players, almost on a whim, and, face it, football fans who follow this stuff and pay for the latest breathless updates will believe just about anything. It's always a brotherhood, a family, divine intervention or a great steak dinner that made him pick the school.
Certain UW fans already have pronounced Fisch as a recruiting guru, a guy who's been making things happen like never before and who is someone who deserves the keys to the city.
With more commits, or rejections, coming as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, the Huskies have 17 players who have offered non-binding oral (not verbal) commitments to the football program. Five, or just under one third, have been designated as 4-star prospects, the rest as 3-stars.
Seven come from California, three from Washington, two from Oregon, two from Arizona and one each from Alabama, Illinois and Hawaii.
On3 is the only recruiting outlet overly impressed by what Fisch has done so far and the recruiting site recently assigned the Huskies a No. 25 national ranking.
Trying to figure out another way to rubber stamp and rank these 17 players who have committed to the Huskies so far, we decided to take another tack — look at the offers and where they came from. And not just any offer. The best way to sort through this, we concluded, is to see who has the most SEC or Big Ten scholarship proposals sent their way? After all, those two conferences pretty much run college football these days. We'll list their individual national ranking, but ignore them in favor of the big-time offers.
After all, the UW, by its national game appearance last season and entry into the Big Ten this season, is considered one of the big boys now. In this recruiting class, let's see how big. From first glance, only the Huskies wanted about half of these players.
1. Raiden Vines-Bright, WR, Tempe, Arizona, and IMG in Florida, 4 stars, (No. 322 national ranking) — This pass-catcher has drawn the most attention of the Husky commits, with six Big Ten schools (UW, Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, UCLA, USC) and six SEC teams (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M) making him offers. As a side note, he's the only one who holds a Notre Dame offer.
2. Champ Taulealea, OL, San Jose, California, 4 stars (No. 208) — While some consider him the Huskies' biggest pick-up in this class, he holds six Big Ten offers (UW, Michigan State, Penn State, Oregon, UCLA, USC) and five SEC offers (Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas), or one fewer than Vines-Bright.
3. Jake Flores, OL, San Juan Capistrano, California, 3 stars (No. 600) — Flores seems to go against the grain of his inidividual recruiting numbers with the amount of attention that he's received, namely six Big Ten offers (UW, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Penn State, USC) and four SEC offers (Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M).
4. Jonathan Epperson, LB, Auburn, Washington, 4 stars (No. 334) — He's considered on one of Washington state's elite players after receiving four Big Ten offers (UW, Oregon, Penn State, USC) and a lone SEC offer (Arkansas).
5. Caleb Smith, ER, Birmingham, Alabama, 3 stars (No. 893) — This guy is considered an interesting program add for the Huskies because he comes from the state of Alabama, a place they don't usually visit, and he holds two Big Ten offers (UW, Purdue) and two SEC offers (Arkansas, Missouri).
6. Vander Ploog, TE, Fullerton, California, 4 stars (No. 240) — By individual national recruiting rankings, he might be the Huskies' second-best talent, but he holds three Big Ten offers (UW, Michigan State, Minnesota) and no SEC scholarship proposals.
7. Donovan Robinson, S/LB, Wilmette, Illinois, 3 stars (No. 982) — This kid who hails from a school near the Lake Michigan coastline and north of Chicago has two Big Ten offers (UW, Minnesota) and one from the SEC (Missouri).
8. Dash Beierly, QB, Santa Ana, California, 3 stars (No. 490) — The Huskies' quarterback of the future has three Big Ten offers (UW, Minnesota, Purdue) and none from the SEC.
9. Baron Naone, TE, West Linn, Oregon, 4 stars (No. 635) — This big tight end from the Portland suburbs carries one Big Ten offer (UW) and one SEC offer (Tennessee).
10. Devin Hyde, ER, Atherton, California, 3 stars (No. 1,125) — This edge rusher from the high school that brought everyone a 5-star vocalist in Stevie Nicks among other rock stars has two Big Ten offers (UW, UCLA).
Updated On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings‼️📈https://t.co/sgucbQFXoE pic.twitter.com/1H0NUfa15M
11. Deji Ajose, WR, Oakland, California, 3 stars (No. 519) — This Bay Area speedster holds just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
12. Julian McMahan, RB, Danville, California, 3 stars (No. 676) — Similarly, this shifty Northern California rusher holds just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
13. D'Aryhian Clemons, DB, Spanaway, Washington, 3 stars (No. 898) — Maybe the fastest of the 17 Husky commits, he holds just one Big Ten or SEC scholarship proposal (UW).
14. Dezmen Roebuck, WR, Marana, Arizona, 3 stars ((No. 1,125) — The state of Arizona's all-time high school receiving leader, he likewise has just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
15. Victor Sanchez Hernandez, ER, Mukilteo, Washington, 3 stars (No. 1,409) — This big kid from the ferry dock town holds just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
16. Dominic Macon, DL, Happy Valley Oregon, 3 stars (N/A) — A late bloomer from the Portland suburbs, he visited the big football camp in Alabama, but still holds just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
17. Treston McMillan, QB, Millilani, Hawaii, 3 stars (N/A) — The second of two Husky quarterback commits for this class, he holds just one Big Ten or SEC offer (UW).
For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington
DAN RALEY
Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.
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